Gary Numan’s spouse Gemma left paralysed after spinal surgical procedure as she reveals she broke down when she realised she may not use her left hand – simply months after tragic demise of singer’s youthful brother

Gary Numan‘s wife Gemma has revealed she’s been left paralysed in one arm in a rare complication following spinal surgery to treat a herniated disc.

Gemma, 57, shared the health update on Instagram on Thursday alongside a photo of herself and music icon Gary, 67, on a walk in Kew Gardens, London.

‘Still recovering [from] the sadder outcome of left arm paralysis after my multi-level discectomy’, she wrote of the operation that took place at the end of last year.

A multi-level discectomy is a surgical procedure in which damaged or herniated discs are removed from several levels of the spine to relieve pressure on the surrounding nerves.

Paralysis is a a very rare complication but also a known risk due to the surgery’s proximity to the spinal cord or nerve roots.

The news comes just months after the death of Gary’s younger brother John in November.  

Gary Numan’s wife Gemma has been left paralysed after spinal surgery as she revealed she broke down when she realised she could no longer use her left hand

‘Still recovering [from] the sadder outcome of left arm paralysis after my multi-level discectomy’, she wrote of the operation that took place at the end of last year

In a separate post, showing her lying on a bed, Gemma revealed the paralysis struck immediately after the operation on her cervical spine on 11 December. 

‘Paralyzed left arm straight away! It’s one of the sad things that can happen,’ she added.

She said physiotherapy has helped her regain some movement in her lower arm and biceps, but that she had ‘nothing’ in her shoulder and the surrounding area.

The injury has been made all the more difficult by the fact that Gemma is left-handed. 

She said she had bought a small travel paint kit to cheer herself up, only to break down when she realised she couldn’t use it properly.

‘Get back, cried and realized I can’t use it cos I’m left handed,’ she wrote. 

‘So I tried by turning the paper round all the time! It’s s*** but that’s with my lead hand which is now not really working with any control.’

Gemma, who shares three children with the Cars hitmaker, has not been able to return to the family home in Los Angeles since September. They arrived in the UK on 4 December, a week before the operation.

The couple, who married in 1997, have endured a gruelling few months recently, including Gemma’s escalating health problems and the death of Gary’s younger brother John Webb – news that the synthpop star received while on stage during his tour last November.

In a separate post, showing her lying on a bed, Gemma revealed the paralysis struck immediately after the operation on her cervical spine on 11 December

In her candid post, Gemma said the surgery was one of three operations she has undergone since August, and that she still faces another

In her candid post, Gemma said the surgery was one of three operations she has undergone since August, and that she still faces another.

She added: ‘I miss my animals so much it makes [me] feel sick. Gary has looked after me here in UK the whole time. And I Facetime babies. But animals are just missed.

‘No one can ever understand how s*** it is and not glamorous plus my health s*** my animals have lost months with me.’

Gemma and Gary have three daughters Raven, Persia and Echo, who are based at the family home in LA.

Gemma also paid tribute to Gary for putting his career on hold to care for her, writing: ‘He has been bored s***less with so much looking after me and it’s all my fault he’s fallen behind on all things Numan again to look after me.’

Her spinal surgery follows years of worsening health problems that she first spoke about in detail last summer.

Last August, she revealed she was preparing for five cervical discs to be removed and replaced, but said she was delaying the operation until after Gary’s tour, which finished in December.

At the time she said a temporary spinal procedure had given her eight months of relief before ‘the neck pain and migraines came screaming back’.

Gary’s younger brother John Webb passed away in November – news that the synthpop star received while on stage during his tour last November 

She also disclosed she had been diagnosed with nutcracker syndrome, a rare vascular disorder in which the left renal vein is compressed, and was facing a kidney autotransplantation – a complex operation in which her own kidney would be repositioned inside her body.

On top of that, Gemma revealed she had been diagnosed with May-Thurner syndrome, another vascular condition affecting veins in the pelvis, and pelvic congestion syndrome.

She suggested that the May-Thurner syndrome may have caused the blood clot that led to a mini-stroke she suffered in 2024. 

‘I’m a broken nightmare! Hopefully getting fixed!’ she wrote at the time.

In mid-2024, Gary revealed Gemma had been treated for a heart arrhythmia that saw her pulse spike to dangerously high levels, describing it as a ‘scary time’ for the family.