LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- At Louder than Life 2021, the guitarist of Judas Priest had a major medical emergency on stage. Now, two years later, he's grateful for the Louisville doctors who saved his life.
Richie Faulkner suffered an aortic aneurysm while performing at the festival. It happened during the last song of the band's set.
Medics rushed him to UofL Health Heart Hospital, where doctors worked to save him during a 10-and-a-half-hour open heart surgery.
"They saved my life," Faulkner said. "They made it possible for me to come home and hold my daughter again and cut the lawn and play guitar and all the normal things that I can do. So I'm forever grateful to them."
Faulkner took five months off recovering through cardiac rehab then went back out on the road playing for thousands of fans.
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