Stryper guitarist Oz Fox was hospitalized on Thursday, October 22nd, 2020 after suffering a major seizure. He was put on an anti-seizure medication following the episode and plans were made for Fox to undergo brain surgery for two tumors that were first discovered in August 2018.
Fox underwent the first of two planned surgeries on March 4th. His wife Annie shared the following update on the surgery and condition:
“He is out of surgery & in ICU! I’m getting ready to see Oz. Light at the end of the tunnel! Doctor just came down before to see me and shared:
Oz did great during surgery with guitar playing & talking up a storm about favorite tv shows!
We have a few complications/concerns.
1) The doctor had to leave a small 1-2 inch piece of the wall of tumor that blended in with the rest of his brain. Affected his playing functions so they couldn’t remove it. In a few days he won’t be able to play with his arm, but after the swelling goes down, hopefully he will be back to normal.
2) Breathing not good during surgery. Airways closed up halfway through so they had to give him a breathing tube. He will be on it tonight and hopefully they can wean him off of it in the next 24 hours.
They will also try to figure out what’s wrong with his airway in his throat in the next few days.
Thank you for all your prayers!”
Frontman Michael Sweet checked in with the following update prior to Fox‘s surgery:
“Hi friends – the online store has just rolled out three versions of an Oz Fox T you’re gonna need. Two soft ringspun cotton Ts and an old-school baseball T, printed with eco-friendly water based discharge ink, these Ts have a great vintage feel. And what makes these shirts even cooler: all proceeds go directly to Oz!
As many of you know, my lifelong friend and bandmate is going in for brain surgery very soon. To help with the enormous medical bills associated with this surgery, we have launched 3 Oz Fox T-shirts in the Stryper store as part of an overall fundraising effort. Please consider picking up one, or more, of these cool exclusive shirts. Also – if you want to donate more than the shirt cost, you can do so when checking out and 100% of the money will go to Oz. And most importantly, please join us in continued prayers for him.”
Go to Stryper‘s official merch store here.
