After seven years in a wheelchair and a difficult condition that could have ended in the loss of his leg, Paul Di'Anno found salvation in Croatia. Since the end of November 2021, Paul has been receiving treatment in Croatia, where he made his first steps in May after a series of lymphatic drainage treatments and daily physiotherapy. The complicated and long-lasting treatment was initiated by fans and friends who raised significant funds to restore his new-old life. Castro Pergjoni, owner of the legendary Cart and Horses pub, where Maidens had their first performances together with the writer and big Maiden fan Stjepan Juras from Croatia, launched an action that joined thousands of fans from all over the world.
Juras has checked in with the following update on Di'Anno's upcoming operations:
"Dear fans,
After a long and intensive recovery of Paul Di'Anno in Croatia, and a series of treatments he underwent, the moment of great announcement has finally come. You already knew that Paul was facing three major operations, but now we finally know the dates. Paul Di'Anno will be admitted to the hospital on July 5, 2022, and all three surgeries will be performed on him for two consecutive days, after which the hospital recovery will take about two to three weeks. Hospital recovery and intensive care are followed by the second part of recovery, which is rehabilitation and re-learning of walking, which will be significantly improved in the first days of October, and by the end of 2022 Paul should be able to walk fully.
The first operation, or installation of the so-called umbrella in the vein cava will make a team of specialists and vascular surgeons and thus will prevent the movement of a large thrombus (blod-clot) in the abdomen and potential stroke or embolism. Operations of removing cement (spacer between bones) and installing so-called tumor prostheses or custom made bone and knee will be performed by an expert from the 'Heatlh Center of Excellence'; prof.dr.sc. Robert Kolundžić, orthopedic specialist, subspec traumatologist of the locomotor system. The operation will be performed at the Clinic for Traumatology of the KBC Sestre milosrdnice or (possibly) at the KBC Dubrava.
Paul is very motivated and can’t wait for the big and currently most important change in his life to happen. The doctor who will operate on him is one of the authorities not only in Croatia, but also in Europe, when we talk about surgery of this kind, and the operation that Paul will undergo is the most complicated and difficult of all orthopaedic surgeries. Although Paul will be cared for by a number of experts and the operations will be performed perfectly, Paul’s biggest ‘opponent’ in everything is his own body or his circulation. Namely, the circulation in his leg is not at an enviable level and with all the efforts that have been made so far, it cannot be much better, but they will try hard. This is the biggest danger that threatens Paul and he is aware of it. An almost identical thing happened to him before, when his body rejected the endoprosthesis, but in this case it is much worse. If poor circulation suspends wound healing from surgery and if custom-made bone rejection occurs, this will be the end of treatment labeled Plan A.
Plan B would then be a leg amputation, but that doesn’t mean Paul wouldn’t walk. Moreover, the recovery would be shorter, and Paul's movement better and more reliable. The only difference is that he would not have his own leg. Paul is aware of all the consequences and is ready for anything. He told us that he had thought about that option seven years earlier, but due to a double infection with MRSA, it was impossible to perform. Paul is ready for option A and option B, but we all hope that after the barochamber and additional lymphatic drainage at the Ribnjak Polyclinic, the circulation will be better and that Paul's leg will last and heal and that he will walk this year.
Paul has important days of psychological preparations for the operation ahead of him and now he needs the understanding of all the fans and only peace. In a few days my colleague and friend Kastro Pergjoni will also announce great and fantastic news to you.
Please follow Cart & Horses FB site. We will inform you in detail about each course of operations in a timely manner. Everyone who has the opportunity please help us on this journey and buy the popular 'The Beast is Back! - special bundle with Warhorse DVD single + Paul Di’Anno special event t-shirt. You can order the bundle at: maidencroatia.com/warhorse.
Thank you all. Up the Irons."
On May 22nd, when Iron Maiden launched their 2022 Legacy Of The Beast World Tour in Zagreb, Croatia, bassist Steve Harris and Di'Anno reunited for the first time in years. A video has been posted with Di’Anno meeting with Harris and band manager Rod Smallwood. Di'Anno sang on Iron Maiden's legendary first two albums, Iron Maiden and Killers. Di'Anno has spent the last few months in the Croatian capital receiving lymphatic drainage treatment ahead of upcoming knee surgery.
Guesting on The Metal Voice, Di'Anno recounted the meeting with Harris and Smallwood, calling it "quite emotional." Check out the interview below.
Di'Anno: "It was brilliant because I met up with Steve's sister Linda first, whom I hadn't seen her in about 30 years. And then... Steve was amazing, and then Rod as well, it's made my whole year, actually. It was fantastic. It was pretty awesome. It was quite emotional. If it had been the first time we spoke together in 30 years, it would have been maybe a little bit more weird. But, as I said, we talk about football and stuff like that, and Steve phoned me up a couple of times from (his home in) the Bahamas."
