In 1989, Jeff Becerra, vocalist for death metal pioneers Possessed, was robbed at gunpoint and shot, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Today, Becerra still fronts the satanic death metal legends, having spent more of his life in a wheelchair than he did on his feet. But now, with the help of “robotic legs,” Jeff was finally able to walk for the first time in 30 years.
Possessed posted the following video to their Tiktok and Instagram, with Jeff writing, “I walked again! I walked again for the first time in over 30 years with the help of robotic legs.”
Watch the astounding moment below:
View this post on Instagram
Congratulations to Jeff! You’re proof that even the most insurmountable odds can be overcome, dude. We’re in awe.
Jeff’s road has been a long and hard one — just this April, he had one of the most brutal-sounding surgeries of all time. “Week six after surgery,” Jeff wrote on his Tumblr blog. “Had a skin flap reconstructive surgery which essentially is cutting out a large spot of flesh from my tailbone all the way down to the bone, grinding down the bone and removing all the dead bone. After that, a horseshoe shaped incision is cut all the way around my buttocks and filleted, then a slash up the side towards my back to allow the entire piece to pivot over to cover the wound. The entire thing is then stitched together from the inside, again stitched mid flesh, and stapled together all the way around.”
Very few dudes would have the stones to put their medical experiences out there like that, so kudos to Becerra. Then again, given that he’s the vocalist who pretty much created death metal singing as we know it, we’re unsurprised that he’s down to look the human experience so squarely in the eye.
***
Words by Chris Krovatin
