Oak Ridge Boys’ Joe Bonsall: ‘I Could Have Easily Died Last Weekend’
Oak Ridge Boys' singer Joe Bonsall is sharing more about the severity of the medical problems he alluded to last week. The 74-year-old says he could have died.
On Friday (June 17), Bonsall addressed concerns about his health, admitting he was not looking his best during shows the previous week. He also let fans know that Rudy Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers would be filling in for him during the weekend.
"I'm going to be OK," he said in Friday afternoon's tweet.
On Monday morning (June 20), Bonsall shared that his optimism only came after six days in the hospital.
"I could have easily died last weekend," he writes, "but God is not through with me yet."
Bonsall's doctors discovered he had a pulmonary embolism, which John Hopkins Medicine describes as a blood clot in the lung. It can be fatal, especially if not discovered quickly. It can be treated with medicines or a few different types of surgeries. The singer didn't share which path he was on, but let fans of the Oak Ridge Boys know that, "My recovery could take awhile."
"I am on the better side now," he writes. "God is able! Love you all."
The Oak Ridge Boys have a break from the road. According to their official tour calendar, their next show isn't until July 3. The Country Music Hall of Fame quartet have five shows in July and 10 in August. It remains to be seen when Bonsall — a 50-year veteran of the Oak Ridge Boys — will rejoin the band. On Twitter, his bandmates wished him well.
"We are all thankful that Joe is on the mend and doing well ... each day gets better from here ... God is Great!" the group note on Monday.
The Oak Ridge Boys were a country radio staple in the late 1970s and '80s, with No. 1 hits like "Elvira," "American Made" and "This Crazy Love." They became members of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.