Amid the lack of details regarding Gary Rossington's death, talks about the health problems he faced in the years leading to his death emerged.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Facebook page confirmed Rossington's passing over the weekend. The band mourned after losing its "brother, friend, family member, songwriter, and guitarist."
The statement did not reveal his cause of death; the musician's family also has not addressed the devastating event yet. But upon his passing, fans looked back at Rossington's life and discussed the health problems he suffered from, although it remains unknown whether one of those contributed to his death.
Gary Rossington's Health Problems, Other Issues
Rossington and Lynyrd Skynyrd's members were enjoying success until they hit a glitch on Oct. 20, 1977. At that time, the band's tragic plane crash occurred.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's founding member and vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant, was killed alongside guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines.
The members of the American rock band boarded a small Convair CV-240 passenger plane that had over 20 passengers. The crash happened after the plane ran out of fuel while flying 10,000 feet. It soon crashed into a wooded area, leaving the band's road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray also dead.
At that time, Rossington survived but sustained two broken legs, arms, ankles, and wrists. The plane crash also shattered his pelvis. In a 1980 interview, the guitarist revealed that Lynyrd Skynyrd had everything but lost them all at once following the incident.
Despite losing the frontman, the band continued performing after the then-surviving members recuperated. However, Rossington's recovery led him to face serious drug addiction as he took painkillers to manage his pain.
He soon overcame the addiction and returned to Lynyrd Skynyrd. He performed with the band from 1987 until his death, but between those years, he battled more health issues.
In 2003, Rossington underwent a quintuple bypass surgery. Very Well Health explains that the procedure uses harvested vessels from other parts of one's body to re-route blood flow following blockages in arteries. However, it has some risks, including blood clots that may lead to stroke or even heart attack.
The guitarist suffered one of those risks in 2015 when he had a critical heart attack. The incident led him to get a pacemaker.
In 2019, he had his heart valve repaired during the band's tour. It, unfortunately, happened again in 2021 when Rossington received another emergency heart surgery.
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