Sir Elton John suffered an infection after having prostate cancer treatment, and he reportedly declared that he was “24 hours from death.”
The 75-year-old musician, who was diagnosed with cancer, decided against treatment and instead underwent surgery because he did not want the disease to “hang over” his family.
John hailed his operation in Los Angeles as a “perfect success” in his memoir, which is currently being published in installments. However, ten days after the procedure, he sensed something was wrong.
“It was discovered after the operation that I had an extraordinarily unusual problem.” After lying awake at night “wondering if I was going to die,” he was admitted to a London hospital for 11 days.
It made him decide to quit touring to spend more time with his family, including his spouse, David Furnish, and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah.
“I’d prayed in the hospital, alone in the middle of the night, please don’t let me die, please let me see my kids again, please give me a little longer,” he wrote.
“In a strange way, it felt like the time I spent mending was the answer to my prayers: if you want more time, you have to learn to live like this; you have to slow down. If you desire more time, you must learn to live in this manner.”
“It was as if I was shown another life, one that I discovered I preferred to being on the road,” he explained. Even if music was the most incredible thing in the world, Zachary’s speech about what happened at Cubs or football practice sounded better than any music ever made.
“At this time, there is no doubt in my mind that I will stop touring.”
John, who is presently on tour with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, revealed in his book that he had a falling out with Diana, Princess of Wales, after she failed to sign the introduction to a book for his AIDS charity. This information was made public during John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
They reconciled on the same day that the well-known fashion designer Gianni Versace was assassinated.