Savage Garden’s Darren Hayes on suffering serious head injury: “I could have died”
Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes has opened up about a serious head injury he recently suffered that he “could have died” from.
The vocalist from the ‘90s Australian pop duo said the accident took place on March 17 in Santa Monica, California after he passed out shortly after waking up in the morning.
Writing on Instagram on Friday (April 18), Hayes said that the incident occurred two months to the day after his mother passed away. “I’ve been trying to keep it private but my lengthy recovery period means it’s easier to admit the truth,” he wrote.
Explaining what happened, he said: “I lost consciousness – I fainted shortly after getting out of bed and collapsed three times, losing consciousness each time. The blunt force trauma was so severe it snapped my left jawbone in half. I woke up in a pool of blood, terrible pain in my left side of my head and with 9 teeth shattered.”
Hayes praised the staff at St. John’s Providence in Santa Monica, adding: “I could have died if I landed in a different position. They scanned for and ruled out heart issues and anything neurological. I was a scheduled for emergency reconstructive surgery and this happened on March 21st.”
He said surgeons inserted a titanium brace to re-connect his jaw bones and his mouth is now wired shut for a period of eight weeks.
“Prior to the fall I had been experiencing light headedness and fainting spells for a period before this incident. I am under incredible care. I have an amazing cardiologist and oral surgeon and we are trying to work out how and why I have been fainting. So far my heart is normal, my arteries are normal and I don’t have a brain tumor or anything that could cause the accident.”
He outlined the period of rehab that lies ahead of him, and said to his fans: “I love you folks. I’m so grateful to be alive and every day I’m getting stronger. I’m almost one month post surgery now and I’m only just starting to feel better. I’m so grateful to my loved ones for coming to my rescue and to the doctors and nurses who have treated me with such care. After surviving a brutal divorce, losing my Mother, finding out my father died and then this I have had moments of deep sadness. But I am a survivor and I’ll come back strong.”
Hayes formed Savage Garden in 1993 with guitarist and keyboardist Daniel Jones and they are best remembered for their hits ‘Truly Madly Deeply’, ‘I Want You’ and ‘I Knew I Loved You’. They split in 2001, with Hayes going on to pursue a solo career.
In 2022, Hayes spoke about why the band came to an end: “I was really supportive of [Jones] and loved the band. He absolutely hated the experience of being famous, and decided before the release of that second album that he didn’t want that life.”
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Max Pilley
NME
