Singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet’s trajectory from teenage music fan to internationally respected performer and producer began with an early ‘80s move to Athens. After a year in the Classic City, the Nebraska native left to make his mark in New York, Los Angeles and on the major-label pop music scene.
By the ‘90s, he was best-known for his commercial alternative radio staples “Girlfriend,” “I’ve Been Waiting” and “Sick of Myself.” But two months ago, the prolific musician endured a dramatic series of events.
On Oct. 12, as Sweet and his entourage were in Toronto to begin the East Coast leg of his tour with Hanson — originally scheduled to include two nights in Atlanta and a solo headlining show in Roswell — the prolific performer and producer suddenly shouted, “Get me an ambulance,” to tour manager Evan Carter.
“It was a day off between shows,” explained Evan’s dad, Sweet’s longtime manager, Russell Carter of Decatur. “They’d just arrived in Toronto for a show the next day and were checking into the hotel. That’s when it happened, a debilitating stroke. Luckily, a hospital was just down the street.”
Credit: Henry Diltz
Credit: Henry Diltz
In a lengthy early December post on his GoFundMe page, Sweet, 60, recalled the moment he learned what had happened. “I was in an ambulance, and I heard a man yell, ‘Sir, you’ve had a stroke.’ I didn’t know what it meant. It seemed unreal, as much of my life has.”
He spent two weeks in Toronto Western Hospital before he was transported to a rehabilitation center near his home in Nebraska. “‘Do you know where you are?’ ‘What is the date?’ ‘What is the year?’ ‘What is your name?’ ‘Where are you?’ These are the things I was asked every day,” Sweet wrote. “There were bruises all over my left arm because it was hanging there, unable to move on its own.”
“The only way they would let me travel back to the States was with a medical crew, on an airplane and straight into a rehabilitation hospital,” Sweet posted. “The cost of all these things was already astronomical. What is mankind doing, to not make these things available as part of our culture everywhere?”
“That’s why we started the GoFundMe page,” Carter continued. “Matthew didn’t have insurance, and the cost has added a lot of stress, not only to Matthew but his wife, Lisa, and everyone concerned. People have really stepped up and offered financial and moral support. The first donors to the page were some of his musician friends.” At press time, donations were well past a $500,000 goal. “We’re going to keep it going as long as it’s needed because the costs have been incredible.”
Carter said Sweet’s progress has been slow. For several weeks, doctors couldn’t offer any sort of accurate prognosis. “It was just too early in the game for them to know what kind of progress we could expect. That’s still true to some extent, but progress has been made that’s very heartening. At first, he couldn’t even get out of bed on his own. He had no control over his limbs, but now he can walk with a walker with assistance. As part of his daily therapy, he takes a lot of steps. That’s a dramatic development.”
Carter speaks with Sweet on a regular basis and said his intellectual ability remains sharp. He added that the musician was released from the rehab center just before Thanksgiving, and a crew has renovated the ground floor of Sweet’s house in Omaha to make it a safe space for rehab activities. The home therapy is expected to remain in place for at least a year.
“We’re just hoping the progress will continue,” Carter said. “But his eloquence in the post is inspiring. It’s also the most minute-by-minute detail that there is at this point. We’ve heard from so many people who’ve had strokes and are sympathizing and offering assistance.”
Carter added that Sweet has “at least an album’s worth” of new songs ready to record when he recovers and he remains determined to overcome the current physical limitations. “I know Matthew, and I know there’s no stopping him, whatever it may be. He’s up for the challenge.”
“I understand now what it means to need to reinvent oneself,” Sweet wrote in the note dated Dec. 6. “When the self you knew before is gone, you have no other choice, you either quit or you keep going. So I feel I must keep going,”
He closed the message with a brave promise to continue his creative journey. “I will try to make music. I will try to make art. I will try to express myself, because that is all I have ever known and all that has ever brought me joy.”
For more information or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/support-matthew-sweets-stroke-recovery.
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