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Lucinda Williams Speaks Out on Suffering Stroke Last November

Lucinda Williams opens up about a stroke that she experienced last November. The singer is still dealing with the effects six months later.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the singer got candid about her recent health scare and its after-effects. Williams confirmed that she’s still on the mend and doctors are positive about her recovery. Williams’s stroke happened on Nov. 17 at her Nashville home. She was in the bathroom about to take a shower when she found she couldn’t stand up straight or walk.

An ambulance rushed Willaims to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Doctors discovered that Williams had a blood clot on the right side of her brain. She spent a week in the ICU. She then spent several weeks in the rehabilitation center before going home shortly before Christmas. Ever since then, Williams has continued to go for physical therapy.

“The main thing is, I can still sing. I’m singing my a– off, so that hasn’t been affected,” Williams said. The singer uses a cane to walk. She also can’t play the guitar anymore due to pain in her left arm and leg. But doctors believe Williams will make a “100 percent recovery.”

Lucinda Williams Moves Towards Recovery

For many fans, the news of Williams’s stroke was a shock. The musician revealed she didn’t go public with the news because she didn’t want people to over-react. The singer preferred to handle the matter privately.

“What happens is your brain gets all … the wires get all crossed and you have to retrain your brain basically, to tell your arm to do whatever it is you’re trying to do. So that’s the biggest challenge,” Williams told the outlet. “[During therapy], I do, like, walking, with the cane and they watch me and see how well I’m doing. And then I have to do hand and arm exercises. It’s really about regaining my strength and mobility, and range of motion.”

Williams quietly canceled a live performance at Mile 0 Festival in Key West, Florida. But she said she feels positive she can play again. She has shows lined up on her schedule.

“We’ve got some shows scheduled with Jason Isbell for late July, and we’re planning on doing those,” Williams said. “I don’t know if I’ll stand up and sing or I’ll sit down like an old blues person. But we’ll figure it out.”

So far, Williams has got back to her passion – music. She recently recorded vocals for a Chrissie Hynde song. The musician said she wonders what caused her stroke. But she’s looking forward to the future and being on the path to recovery.

“A lot of times it could be stress and all that, but [the doctors] didn’t know for sure,” Williams said. “You hear about these things all the time. Usually, it’s somebody much older. That’s what I was surprised about, you know?”