Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley opens up about “scary” hospitalisation following pneumonia

Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley has opened up about his “scary” hospitalisation following a pneumonia diagnosis.

Back in September, the ‘Fat Lip’ singer was admitted to hospital with a pneumonia infection. His wife, Ariana, confirmed his hospitalisation on social media adding that it was on the day the couple were supposed to be in Chicago celebrating their eighth wedding anniversary.

She explained that her husband would be kept in hospital for several days due to the risk of heart failure. Whibley had developed a cold after coming off tour with The Offspring, but it spiralled into COVID-19 and then pneumonia.

Whibley was previously hospitalised in 2014 for severe liver and kidney damage caused by alcohol abuse. He spent nearly a month in hospital and was told by doctors that if he had one more alcoholic drink, he risked death. Prior to that, he was hospitalised for pneumonia back in 2011 while touring in Australia.

In an interview with GQ, the Sum 41 frontman shared the moment in which he knew something was wrong. “When I got to the emergency room that night, they told me, ‘You’ll probably be here a few hours, you should be able to go home,’” he said. He then revealed that he was transferred to another hospital at 3am to be monitored for potential heart failure.

“Up to that point, I was like, I’ve been through this shit before, I’ll be fine,” he added. “But when the doctor was that concerned, that’s what made it scariest for me. I could feel my heart having a hard time. I was struggling to breathe. My chest felt really tight.”

He continued: “I remember saying to my wife in the hospital, ‘I’m going to be really bummed if I die.’ I wasn’t scared of it. I was just like, ‘This will suck. I’ve got so much cool shit going on right now.’”

After a brief stay in the hospital, Whibley’s heart stabilised and he was sent home to recover. Sum 41 was scheduled to play the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas several weeks later and he was determined to perform so he got back in the gym as soon as possible.

“We got onstage and I felt fucking great,” Whibley stated. “That was one of the best shows we’ve ever done.”

Back in May, Sum 41 announced that they were to split up following a final run of live tour dates.

The band’s final LP ‘Heaven :x: Hell’ has been confirmed to arrive in Spring 2024. The LP will mark their eighth studio release and first full-length album since 2019’s ‘Order in Decline’.