Gary Numan’s wife Gemma left paralysed after spinal surgery as she reveals she broke down when she realised she could no longer use her left hand – just months after tragic death of singer’s younger brother

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Gemma Numan, wife of musician Gary Numan, has shared that she’s lost feeling and movement in one arm due to a rare problem after surgery for a slipped disc in her spine.

Oh my gosh, you guys, I’m practically losing it! Gemma just posted the sweetest picture on Instagram – her and Gary, looking so happy together on a walk in Kew Gardens! She finally gave us a little update on how she’s doing, and honestly, just seeing them together makes my day! I’ve been following them forever, and they just seem so perfect. I’m so glad they’re both doing well enough to enjoy a lovely walk like that!

She explained she was still recovering from paralysis in her left arm, a complication following a spinal surgery she had at the end of last year.

A multi-level discectomy is surgery to remove damaged discs from multiple areas of the spine. This helps to ease pressure on nearby nerves.

Although uncommon, paralysis is a known risk of this surgery because it’s performed near the spinal cord and nerves.

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

In another post, Gemma shared that she became paralyzed right after her cervical spine surgery on December 11th.

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

As a wellness advocate, I often hear about recovery journeys, and this is a common experience. My client shared that while she’s thankfully regained some movement in her lower arm and biceps through physiotherapy, she still has absolutely no function or feeling in her shoulder and the areas around it. It’s a tough spot, but acknowledging that lack of progress is a key first step.

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

She purchased a small paint set hoping it would lift her spirits, but she became upset when she discovered she didn’t know how to use it.

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

I attempted to compensate by constantly flipping the paper. It’s frustrating, but the issue seems to be with my dominant hand, which is now lacking precision and control.

Gemma and the singer, who have three children together, haven’t been back to their Los Angeles home since September. She traveled to the UK on December 4th, just a week before his surgery.

Married since 1997, the couple has faced a difficult time lately. Gemma’s health has been declining, and Gary’s younger brother, John Webb, recently passed away. Gary received the sad news about his brother while performing on tour last November.

I was so worried when I read Gemma’s post! She revealed she’s already had three surgeries since August – three! – and can you believe she still needs another one? It’s just heartbreaking, and I’m sending her all my love and hoping she recovers quickly. I’m just so concerned for her!

Honestly, being away from my animals is just heartbreaking. It genuinely makes me feel unwell. I’m so grateful to Gary, who has been incredible taking care of me here in the UK. And I do get to see the little ones via FaceTime, which is lovely. But it’s just not the same – I deeply miss my furry and feathered friends.

It’s incredibly difficult to explain how awful things are right now, and it’s definitely not a glamorous situation. My health is really suffering, and I’ve been separated from my animals for months, which has been heartbreaking.

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

Gemma also thanked Gary for sacrificing his career to care for her, explaining that he’d become incredibly bored while doing so. She felt responsible for him falling behind on his work with Numan because he was focused on looking after her.

She recently had spinal surgery after struggling with health issues for several years, which she publicly discussed last summer.

She announced last August that she needed surgery to remove and replace five discs in her neck, but she postponed it until after her husband Gary finished his tour in December.

She explained that a short-term spinal treatment had initially helped for about eight months, but then her neck pain and migraines returned very intensely.

She also revealed she has nutcracker syndrome, a rare condition where a vein in her left kidney is squeezed, and would need a complex surgery to reposition her kidney within her body.

Additionally, Gemma shared that she’d been diagnosed with May-Thurner syndrome and pelvic congestion syndrome, both conditions that impact veins in the pelvic area.

She believes a condition called May-Thurner syndrome might be responsible for the blood clot that caused her mini-stroke in 2024.

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

Around the middle of 2024, Gary shared that Gemma had received treatment for an irregular heartbeat, where her pulse had become dangerously fast. He described the experience as a frightening time for their family.

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2026-02-13 11:49