Gary Crosby OBE, Artistic Director of Tomorrow’s Warriors and Jazz Jamaica suffered a stroke on Monday 29 January just a few days after celebrating his birthday with family and friends.
Gary is in his local hospital after being seen by the team in the Hyper-Acute Stroke Unit in A&E (one of only eight such units in the whole of London) and within about an hour of arriving at the hospital, Gary was admitted to the Stroke Unit Ward.
Janine Irons MBE, Gary’s partner and Managing Director of Tomorrow’s Warriors said;
“I can’t express how grateful we are to the paramedics for getting us to the unit so promptly. The good news is: we caught the stroke early enough to avoid too much damage to the brain, and the medics expect Gary to make a full recovery within 4-6 weeks, provided he does his physio exercises and takes proper rest, and we’ll be doing all we can to help him do just that.
Of course, this means we’ve had to clear Gary’s diary for the whole of February and are having to think carefully about any dates in March, but time will tell. As far as our sessions at Southbank Centre and Rich Mix are concerned, we’ve pretty much got everything covered, as all members of the Tomorrow’s Warriors team have stepped up to lend support.
Meantime, Gary has started a course of physiotherapy and, according to the Stroke Team, is making excellent progress. So we’re reassured that, despite the shocking news, Gary is on the mend, in good hands, and confident he’ll be back on his bass, cracking his old jokes, and putting our young musicians through their paces again very soon. Gary and I extend our warm thanks to all our family, friends, supporters and colleagues for their support and understanding at this challenging time.”
Hi Gary,
This news came as a bit of a shock reminder that you and the rest of us, of a certain age are still alive but, working much to hard. Here in the UK, you’re a special member of our music community and this might just be your body’s way of saying, slowdown. I send you lots of strength and love Gary and hopefully I’ll get to see you soon.
Hello Gary, Take it easy, rest well, and surely and steadily get well again. The music scene needs you up and about making great music as usual, but the main thing is not to rush and to take the time required to recover. Warmest regards. Roger and Ann.
My sincere good wishes for a very speedy recovery Gary, and my love to Janine at this very stressful time. I hope to be able to get you in front of my camera again real soon.