Iconic Aussie musician Jimmy Barnes has revealed he has been discharged from hospital, almost two weeks on from a surgery where he had his hip replaced with a permanent joint.
“I can’t tell you how great it is to be home, to sleep in my own bed. Thank you to the medical teams at St Vincent’s and St Luke’s hospitals who have got me back on my own two feet,” Jimmy captioned the below photo on February 19.
“My @janebarnes13 who has been by my side the entire time. You guys cheering me on. Support at every turn, I’m grateful.”
His wife shared an equally happy update of her own: “Hospital days are over and our hip op patient is happy to be home. Pyshiotherapy continues and there’s still a way to go. Breathing a big sigh of relief,” she penned.
Only a day after his surgery, Jimy’s wife Jane shared a video of the rocker moving around his hospital ward with the help of a frame. Then on day three another video was shared of Jimmy, this time of the Aussie rocker walking with crutches around the hospital (and even up and down stairs), with no hospital gown in sight!
In yet another update video shared by Jimmy gently exercising on day five post-op, the Cold Chisel frontman wrote that he had been given the go-ahead to start physiotherapy.
“Physiotherapy routine has begun and I’ll be doing what I’m told, no more, no less.”
The following day he received a visit from his eldest child David Campbell and grandson Billy – a sure boost to the spirits!
On his final day as an inpatient, Jimmy wrote that his post-surgery results had continued to be positive.
“Physiotherapy in the hydrotherapy pool is really doing me good. No more crutches. Everyone is happy with blood pressure readings”
In a video shared to Instagram on February 8th, the Cold Chisel frontman explained that after a lengthy process, his “incredible” doctors had finally given him the all-clear to have his hip replaced with a permanent joint.
“The temporary hip that I had in there for the last few months did its job and it got me through the amazing Cold Chisel ‘Big-Five-0’ tour,” he penned at the time.
“I’d like to send out a big thank you to the very talented physios who strapped me up like I was in the grand final every night. That got me through the shows” he added.
While he will now be taking some time out of the public eye to rest and recover, the 68-year-old says he’ll be back onstage sooner rather than later.
“I’ve got another big year coming up, this one, and the new hip will have me stomping around the stage before you can say 1, 2, 3, 4.”
Two days later on February 10, Jimmy shared an update from his hospital bed where his devoted wife Jane posted on his behalf.
“Hi everyone, @jane13barnes here. Relieved to let you know that our Jimmy has had his hip op. Surgeons are happy and no ICU, so we’re off to a good start. No turntable allowed yet but good home cooking was on the menu. Bone broth and chicken soup with our organic potatoes and spinach for iron.”
“Jimmy says thank you for all the well wishes,” she finished the post.
Prior to his hip surgery, Jimmy had jokingly apologised to his wife for having to care for him during his recovery once more.
“I’d like to apologise in advance to my darling wife Jane who’s going to be back in nursing mode for the next few weeks (I’m not a great patient if you didn’t know),” he also shared in his video.
It’s been a very busy few years for the father-of-eight who underwent heart surgery in early 2024.
Going public with his news in December 2023, Jimmy revealed that despite “everyone’s best efforts” a bacterial infection he had been battling had unfortunately spread to his heart.
He was first hospitalised with pneumonia in November of that same year. Despite being hooked up to an IV for 36 hours in an effort to help his body recover – open heart surgery quickly became the only path forward for a full recovery.
Only a year prior to that Jimmy had emergency hip surgery after spending more than 50 years “jumping off PAS and stomping around stages.”
In October 2024 Jimmy released his sixth book Highways and Byways: Tall Tales and Short Stories from the Long Way Round which shed new light on his recent health struggles.
