GoFundMe launched for guitarist Matthew Sweet who fears he “may never play guitar again” following stroke
Guitarist Matthew Sweet has shared fears he may never play again following a stroke. A GoFundMe page has been launched to raise money for his rehabilitation.
Sweet embarked on a music career in the 1980s as a solo artist, and went on to find success with songs such as Girlfriend and I’ve Been Waiting. He was on tour with Hanson in Canada back in October this year when he suffered the major stroke.
The fundraiser was then launched by his management team, and though it shared thank yous to the doctors who supported Sweet, it also highlighted concerns for the costs of transporting him back to America to a specialised rehabilitation centre, and the around-the-clock care and therapy he requires in the hopes he will make a full recovery.
At the time of writing, over $500,000 has been raised out of a $750,000 target. In a new update from Sweet which has been shared to the page, he says that being told he’d had a stroke “seemed unreal as much of my life has”. “It’s hard to start here without saying how touched and humbled I am by the success of my GoFundMe page. My future would be gone without it.”
He later adds, “I’ve lived through the day where I realised I may never play guitar again, I’ve lived through the day where I realised I may never draw a straight line again or enjoy the pastime that developed over just the last year of my life, painting with fountain pens and colouring with dip pens and ink.”
He continues, “I understand now what it means to need to reinvent oneself, when the self you knew before is gone, you have no other choice, you either quit or you keep going and so I feel I must keep going, and I feel a great burden to do so with such incredible support that you, many of whom I do not know, have given me. I must just say thank you to you for giving me this help. This hope I cannot feel whether I could have had on my own.
“I will try to make music. I will try to. I will try to make art. I will try to express myself, because that is all I have ever known and all that has ever brought me joy, throughout a life filled with more sadness than anyone could know what to do with, than any of us know what to do with, and that’s life. May you all today find a glimmer of hope and love and a future to strive toward the way you have helped me find it, every one of you,” he concludes.
You can read Sweet’s full message or donate over at his GoFundMe page.
The post GoFundMe launched for guitarist Matthew Sweet who fears he “may never play guitar again” following stroke appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
