Eugene, Oregon…along with the mass population of doom metal fans out there are especially happy today. Why? Luminaries in the genre, YOB, came very close to losing their cohort and bandmate, and, well, the stars aligned and Mike Scheidt will continue to shine on for all of those he leads, effectively, into the light.

According to The Prp, Scheidt underwent intestinal surgery last week that ultimately was, for lack of better words, life or death. The vocalist developed diverticulitis: an illness that causes intestinal and colon “pouches” to materialize, and if gone unnoticed…leads to eventual inflammation and infection of the former. In earnest, the ailment is still not fully understood, but not entirely out of the ordinary. Doctors believe diverticulitis may form in the shadow of diet lacking in fiber. Now the whole apple-a-day thing is starting to make a whole lot more sense: it may even hold a lot more levity than our former child selfs ever imagined it would.

While Scheidt hasn’t commented on his routine (or not-much-of-a-routine, routine) regiment of fruits and vegetables, the singer has confirmed the potentially lethal consequences of this ailment. From what can be gathered, diverticulitis still hasn’t been fully postalized within the health community, and like in the instance of YOB’s frontman, it could kill those who try and “work through the pain”.

Mike Scheidt comments on the surgery, the precariousness of the event, and the consequent success of the operation:

“Thank you so very much for the love and good vibes. It is helping so much. I can’t thank you enough.

I’ve been out of surgery for about 4 hours and finally coherent enough to write. The surgery went very well! I have a long road of recovery ahead, and will be having another surgery in 6 weeks to finalize what the surgeon did this time. I won’t go into all of the details, but the things they did to save my life seem miraculous. I will say that my intestine was badly infected and also perforated, letting air and worse into my body cavity.

The surgeon said if I had passed on treatment, and tried to white knuckle through this current attack, I would have been dead within a few days. Maybe sooner. I really dodged a bullet. I’ll be in the hospital for another 5-7 days. Then I’ll go home and continue my recovery until 6 weeks pass and then come back for the 2nd surgery.

The reason I didn’t die is because Kris Keyser( my Lady) convinced me to go to the ER, and Charlotte Scheidt (MOM) drove Kris and myself to the hospital. They saved my life. My gratitude cannot be adequately with words. My gratitude reaches to the Sun and back.
I didn’t want to leave folks not knowing what is going on. I’m ok! Much love to you all!! Cheers!!

Best Regards, Mike.”

For the hypochondriacs and ultra-anxious out there (like the individual writing this piece), WEBMD offers more information on the issue and how to detect and prevent it. And well, for die hards of the YOB namesake (and doom metal in general), you can keep on rockin’ on; the hero of the scene lives on!

UPDATE (3/19): According to The PRP, Scheidt’s surgery was a success.