Shane MacGowan’s wife Victoria Mary Clarke has given an update on his condition amid his ongoing health battles.
The Pogues’ frontman, 65, has been staying in a hospital intensive care unit for several months.
The Fairytale Of New York hitmaker was diagnosed with viral encephalitis last year and has had a number of hospital stays since.
His wife Victoria, 57, has been keeping Shane’s followers up to date with his condition with frequent updates to social media.
On Sunday, she once again took to Twitter to share a photo of a smiling Shane in his hospital bed and relayed a message to his fans.
Tough time: Shane MacGowan’s wife Victoria Mary Clarke has given an update on his condition amid his ongoing health battles
Updates: The Pogues’ frontman, 65, has been staying in a hospital intensive care unit for several months and his wife, 57, has been keeping his followers up to date with his condition
Positive words: On Sunday, she share a photo of a smiling Shane in his hospital bed and relayed a message from him to his fans which appeared to reference the current devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas
Captioning the snap, Victoria appeared to reference the ongoing devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas as she shared some positive words from Shane.
She wrote: ‘Shane is praying for peace and love for everyone in the world’.
It comes after Victoria shared another picture of Shane earlier this month, and voiced her optimism that he would be able to return home, while voicing her gratitude for those caring for him.
She tweeted: ‘Feeling really really grateful that @ShaneMacGowan is looking so bright today! And we as determined as ever to get home!
‘Thank you a million times to all of the doctors and nurses and all of the staff and everyone who is visiting him!’
It comes after Victoria spoke about the struggle she’s experienced to remain positive in the face of Shane’s health troubles.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘A lot of the time life goes on as normal but sometimes things happen to shake things up and not necessarily in ways that you want!
‘We have had some pretty scary health challenges in our family recently and it has been showing me that the idea of just trusting and going with the flow is not easy!!!
Update: It comes after Victoria shared another picture of Shane earlier this month, and voiced her optimism that he would be able to return home, while voicing her gratitude for those caring for him
Hopeful: She tweeted: ‘Feeling really really grateful that @ShaneMacGowan is looking so bright today! And we as determined as ever to get home!’
‘The natural reaction for most of us when we are in a scary situation and a loved one is in danger of dying is to totally freak out and imagine the worst and it can be hard to stay positive and stay calm and strong and not collapse in a blubbering heap!
‘But I have noticed that if you allow yourself to cry and to feel all of the fear and even to collapse and you don’t judge yourself for your feelings and you have compassion for yourself and everyone else around you even in the really dark moments it’s like that is the real meaning of going with the flow.
‘Trusting that things will somehow work out doesn’t mean you have to pretend that you are not afraid.
‘It means that you can trust yourself to be anything you need to be and feel anything that you feel and if you stay connected to your heart without telling yourself that you are doing it wrong you can find that your heart responds by being far more full of love and courage and appreciation and compassion than you thought possible.
‘And when you feel love in your heart you stay focused in the present instead of worrying about the future.
‘And you literally take heart from the love that you feel for your special person and also for all of the doctors and nurses and staff and your family and friends and everyone around you.
‘It’s not really a challenge that we want to invite into our lives but you can be surprised by what comes out of it when you stay open to the possibilities!
‘Love and gratitude for so many prayers and so much support for @shanemacgowanofficial.’
Difficult: It comes after Victoria spoke about the struggle she’s experienced to remain positive in the face of Shane’s health troubles
In June, Victoria also opened up about Shane’s health worries in an Instagram post.
She had written: ‘There has been a lot of turbulence in my life recently and it’s been very emotional and also scary.
‘But this past few days I have noticed that even though there’s a LOT of fear there is also a huge amount of love and support and incredible blessings.
‘I think that our minds can be VERY resistant to change and to having our lives shaken up and rearranged and we need to be very gentle and patient with ourselves…
‘It’s a challenge to stay present with your feelings. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me and @shanemacgowanofficial.’
Update: Shane recently shared another health update with fans, after returning home from hospital in time for Christmas
Shane has been battling with his health for some time and had another hospital stint at the end of last year, when he was thought to have had both shingles and encephalitis – but he returned home in time for Christmas.
Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed (swollen).
It can be life-threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.
In the video, Shane confirmed: ‘Hi friends, I’m sitting here suffering from encephalitis.
Wearing a pair of sunglasses to protect against the light sensitivity, he added: ‘The light is killing me […] but I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year and Happy Christmas.
And many more, and all the luck in the world and all the love. Happy Christmas and Happy New Year, love Shane.’
WHAT IS ENCEPHALITIS?
Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed (swollen).
It can be life-threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.
Anyone can be affected, but the very young and very old are most at risk.
Encephalitis sometimes starts off with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache, but these don’t always occur.
More serious symptoms develop over hours, days or weeks, including: confusion or disorientation, seizures (fits), changes in personality and behaviour or loss of consciousness.
Dial 999 for an ambulance immediately if you or someone else has these more serious symptoms.
It’s not always clear what causes encephalitis, but it can be caused by viral infections. Several common viruses can spread to the brain and cause encephalitis in rare cases, including the herpes simplex virus (which causes cold sores and genital herpes) and the chickenpox virus.
Source: NHS
Shane had also wished his followers well over the festive period on Christmas Day.
He shared a short snippet of himself waving at the camera and saying: ‘Merry Christmas everyone’.
Alongside the video, he wrote on Twitter: ‘Happy Christmas everyone and thank you for all your messages and prayers’.
Fans were left concerned when he was rushed to hospital but his wife Victoria confirmed on December 15 that he was back home.
Writing to her followers on Twitter, Irish journalist Victoria, 56, wrote: ‘Shane is home and we are going to watch the football ⚽️!
‘Thank you everyone who has been messaging and blessings to everyone who has a loved one in hospital and who is in hospital themselves and blessings to the doctors and nurses! @ShaneMacGowan.’
Shane was wrapped up warm in the picture shared to her 29,000 followers, wearing a fluffy hat, sunglasses and covered in a blanket.
Shane, who has used a wheelchair since he broke his pelvis in 2015, has been in and out of hospital in recent years.
Fans wished the singer, whose hits include Fairytale of New York, a speedy recovery and hoped he’d be home for Christmas.
Victoria previously updated his fans with a photo of the musician smiling from his hospital bed.
Alongside the snap, she wrote: ‘Fingers crossed @ShaneMacGowan will be home tomorrow! @PoguesOfficial.
Victoria gave fans an update on her husband’s health earlier this month, tweeting that ‘doctors are confident he will be OK.’
‘I just wanted to thank everyone who has been sending good wishes for @ShaneMacGowan, he is being treated for an infection and the doctors are confident that he will be ok.’
‘I am just incredibly grateful to them and to all of you,’ Victoria wrote.
Victoria shared a picture of the musician smiling as she revealed he had been admitted to hospital.
She tweeted: ‘Please send prayers and healing vibes to Shane MacGowan in hospital again and really hoping to get out asap!! Thank you.’
One fan wrote beneath her update: ‘Not at Christmas, the man is the sound of Christmas… I hope he recovers swiftly and not too much discomfort.’
Victoria told the Irish Mirror that Shane is finding it ‘frustrating’ and wants to get out after being admitted.
Health: The Pogues frontman was rushed to hospital in December where he was being ‘treated for an infection’ (pictured with his wife Victoria)
Hospitalised: Shane, who has used a wheelchair since he broke his pelvis in 2015, has been in and out of hospital in recent years
Recovering: Victoria gave fans a recent update on her husband’s health, tweeting that ‘doctors are confident he will be OK’
She said: ‘I’m definitely hoping he gets out this week. He’s a bit frustrated, I think. He finds it very frustrating… he wants to get out.’
The couple have been together for more than 35 years and tied the knot at Copenhagen City Hall in Denmark in November 2018.
The intimate ceremony was attended by their close friend Johnny Depp, who performed.
The Irish singer-songwriter has had health troubles since he broke his pelvis.
In 2021 he fell and broke a knee, before tearing ligaments in his left knee, never fully recovering from the injuries.
Wife: Victoria, who married Shane in an intimate ceremony in Copenhagen in 2018 (pictured), after a 35 year romance asked fans to pray for him back in June
In April he confirmed that he ‘can’t walk any more’.
He has also been open about his battle with addiction and in 2015 had to get a full set of teeth implants after decades of drinking and drugs destroyed his real ones.
But just last week he seemed in good spirits when he delighted fans by joining TikTok, clocking up 840,000 views for his first video.
He said in the 17-second clip: ‘Welcome to Shane MacGowan on TikTok, I hope you enjoy. God bless, Shane.’