Bonnie Tyler was experiencing “severe pain” in the days before the emergency surgery that has led to her being placed in a medically induced coma.
The Welsh pop star, famed for her Eighties smash “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, was undergoing surgery in her current base of Portugal, with her spokesperson confirming in a statement that doctors had put her into an induced coma to “aid her recovery”.
Now Tyler’s friend Liberto Mealha, a businessman based in the Algarve, has described the weeks leading up to Tyler’s current condition, with the 74-year-old singer first complaining of feeling unwell while playing a gig in London in March.
“She started feeling unwell during a concert in London and went to a doctor for tests, but they didn’t detect anything there,” Mealha told The Sun. “She decided to travel to the Algarve, where she began to feel severe abdominal pain.”
He continued: “Two days later, she went to a private hospital, which urgently transferred her to the hospital in Faro because her appendix had burst and she needed emergency surgery.”
Mealha said that Tyler is currently being supported at her hospital bedside by her husband Robert Sullivan, a property developer she married in 1973. He added that Sullivan does not believe his wife would still be alive if she had remained in the UK.
“He’s very grateful to the doctors and nurses at the Faro hospital and believes that if Bonnie had stayed in the United Kingdom she would no longer be here,” Mealha said.
Tyler’s condition remains unknown following confirmation of her surgery and coma, with her spokesperson explaining that they will “issue a further statement when we are able to”, while asking for “privacy at this difficult time”.
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The star, whose additional hits include “Holding Out for a Hero” and “It’s a Heartache”, was due to start a 30-date tour later this month, with a homecoming gig taking place in Cardiff in December.
Reached for comment by concerned fans, Tyler’s guitarist Ed Poole said that he had limited information on Tyler’s condition.
“I’m aware of the ongoing news about the Bonnie situation and appreciate everyone that’s reached out about it,” he wrote. “All I can say is that myself and the rest of the band are hoping and praying that she pulls through.”