Rock Hits
Nightwish Singer Floor Jansen Recuperating After Gallbladder Removal
Nightwish lead vocalist Floor Jansen is recovering after recently undergoing gallbladder removal surgery. The medical procedure, known as a cholecystectomy, was precipitated by a bout of pancreatitis the singer experienced. The surgery led to the discovery of several gallstones.
The episode took place in Finland, Nightwish’s home base, where Jansen had traveled to rehearse with the veteran symphonic metal band for their upcoming livestream concerts, An Evening With Nightwish In a Virtual World, scheduled for May 28-29. Jansen, who is Dutch, lives in Sweden with her husband, Sabaton drummer Hannes Van Dahl. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, she hadn’t seen her Nightwish bandmates in over a year.
“I was in the hospital last week,” Jansen revealed on Facebook on Wednesday (April 14). “In Finland, where I went to rehearse with my dear brothers in Nightwish for our virtual shows next month. So incredibly great to see them after all that time. … After the first rehearsal day I woke up to severe stomach pains and decided this was not normal. Once at the hospital I got what you call a gallstone attack.”
She continued, “Turned out I had pains because of a huge amount of gallstones, and pancreatitis. I needed my gallbladder removed but because of the pancreatitis they couldn’t do it at once. The day after they took a scarred gallbladder out, with 15 stones in it! [Nightwish guitarist] Emppu [Vuorinen] calls me stone henge from now on.”
In a selfie accompanying Jansen’s recovery update, the musician is pictured smiling in the sunlight, eyes closed, in front of a serene thicket of green trees.
“I had a case of Murphy’s Law hitting me,” Jansen added, “even though the picture might suggest it’s all peachy. That’s to keep a positive spirit, sun on my face, life is good! But challenging at times. … But I am most grateful for the amazing care I received at the hospital in Joensuu! And for all the love and support from my band and friends and family! And grateful for my own body. For taking this so well, I made a promise to take extra good care of it!”
Tickets for An Evening With Nightwish In a Virtual World are on sale now at nightwish.com.