Tina Turner, The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, died peacefully in her home in Switzerland on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. She was 83 years old, and had had a 60 year career in the music industry.
In the years leading up to her death, the star had been open about the health problems she faced, including strokes in 2009 and 2013, colonic cancer in 2016, and kidney transplant in 2017. Turner had been living with high blood pressure for much of her life.
Dating back to 1978, Turner was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure). However, in an interview with the European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA), she said, “I considered high blood pressure my normal. Hence, I didn’t really try to control it.”
As a result of her untreated hypertension, Turner had her first stroke in 2009 and found out her kidneys had lost 35 percent of their function, according to an article she wrote for the EKHA. She started taking prescription medications but didn’t like the way they made her feel, and she turned to a homeopathic doctor in France.
Unfortunately, after a routine checkup, she learned her kidneys were getting worse and getting off the medication was causing her extreme harm.
I never would have replaced my medication by the homeopathic alternatives if I had had an idea how much was at stake for me,” Turner wrote in her EKHA article.
In 2013, Turner had another stroke three weeks after she married her second husband, Erwin Bach.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a “silent killer,” because “symptoms do not become noticeable until 80 percent of renal tissue is lost,” Turner continued. “As it happened to me, hypertension is one of the most frequent causes of kidney failure.”
Tina Turner on haemodialysis
She eventually started dialysis. “It was my only option, but it was depressing to be connected to a machine for hours,” she wrote. “For the next nine months, all my life was about dialysis”. But in 2017, she received a successful and life-saving kidney-transplant surgery with her husband as the donor.
Contributions to Society
She was the first black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
She was one of the first high-profile figures to speak out about domestic abuse – which she experienced from her first husband – giving a voice to millions of others experiencing similar situations. This paved the way for a culture shift in the way domestic abuse is discussed and how survivors are treated. At the same time, she refused to let it define her.
Tina Turner was one of the best and most dynamic soul singers in American music history, adored all over the world – and a spokesperson for women everywhere. She was ‘simply the best’.
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Last Reviewed on 25 May 2024