U2 star Bono was resigned to the fact he'd have to limp around onstage for the rest of his career after he was wheeled in for surgery for a herniated disc in May (10).
The rocker was left with partial paralysis in both legs after his spine locked up on him and he feared the worst as medics in Munich, Germany prepared him for surgery.
Bono returned to the stage in Turin, Italy on 6 August (10) after cancelling a string of performances and now admits he's grateful he came through the operation unscathed.
He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "This guy (at the hospital) is telling me the chances of getting out intact, they're better than even, really good odds.
"But I saw (my wife) Ali looking at me, like, 'Is this going to be a different person I'll be meeting tomorrow?'"
And the rocker admits he was weighing up his options as he went in for surgery: "I think I could have made a limp work... For me, it would have been the end of a certain era. But I came out of it perfect and I feel incredibly grateful."
And he'll never forget the diagnosis from his doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt after walking around New York with a cane when the disc burst through a ligament and splintered during a cycling session.
He recalls, "To discover that you're not indestructible was a bit of a blow."