Jessie J Reveals How Stroke at 18 Changed Her Life
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Written by Elliott Batte
Next-gen pop star Jessie J has revealed how a stroke at the young age of 18 has inspired her music career.
The singer is considered ‘one of the best in the world’ by Justin Timberlake, and has just won a Brits Award for Critic’s Choice - but she was diagnosed as having an irregular heartbeat at the age of just 11. The illness meant she was always in and out of hospitals for most of her teenage year – making the accolades that much sweeter.
Speaking of her condition, the 22-year-old Essex girl said “I had some wires put in my shoulder and my groin and into my heart. They tried to zap it into a normal rhythm and it didn’t really work. Then at 18 I suffered a minor stroke. The stroke was an event that left doctors pondering whether she would be able to sing or walk ever again.
But Jessie braved the condition and revealed I’m fine now but it’s meant I really value my time. I am one clean-living girl. Having bad health has made me a better person in a weird kind of way. It has made me realise I can’t take anything for granted and I must look after my body. I don’t drink or smoke and would never ever touch drugs. I’m a goody two-shoes.”
She went on to say how it has inspired her music. “I learned from an early age about death after seeing young children in hospital. There was one boy who I sing about on my song Big White Room. He had a heart transplant but died. One day he was there, the next day he was gone. It really affected me.”
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