Jason Becker Scheduled to Undergo Surgery for Lung Abscess

In case you’re out of the loop, Jason Becker, the guitarist most known for his work with Marty Friedman in Cacophony and David Lee Roth, was diagnosed with ALS in 1989 (and yes, he did the ice bucket challenge). The debilitating disease has left him without the ability to speak, walk, or play guitar since 1996. Jason is now scheduled to undergo surgery to drain an abscess in his lung on March 21st.

His mother Patricia released an update on the official website:

“Hello all you Triumphant Hearts! Jason is very grateful to you all. His procedure to drain the abscess in his lung is scheduled for March 21st and should be an out-patient procedure if all goes well. He is off the antibiotics for now and some of the side-effects have ceased, but there are still bouts of shortness of breath and rapid heartbeats, which is quite scary and causes anxiety and stress, which means no computer time and some adjustments in food/water intake and things like that. Kind of touch and go, but we are all expecting a good outcome. As Jason says, ‘man, breathing is a good thing.’ We are all in survival mode and working hard to come back to “normal” mode. And fun. Thank you all for your love and support.”

Despite his condition, Becker continues to compose and release music with the help of his computer. You can check out his most recent solo project, Triumphant Hearts, here. We wish him a quick recovery.