Tina Turner lived a painful unbalanced life.
For all the incredible highs she accomplished as a musician, film star, and global icon, she also dealt with some devastating lows. While those she inspired struggle to make sense of her loss, it has been revealed that Tina Turner had long been prepared to transition and even thought about doing the job herself.
Tina Turner grew up poor before meeting Ike Turner. While he helped them accomplish fame and fortune, he was also incredibly abusive. Turner would eventually get out of the marriage and tell her story, revealing just how bad things got between her and Ike.
Tina found new success and love, marrying Erwin Bach and moving to Switzerland. While the last few decades have seen her legacy cemented as the Queen of Rock and Roll, behind the scenes, Turner was battling health issues with her kidneys.
It’s been reported that about seven years before her passing, Turner contemplated having assisted suicide to escape the constant pain she was in. Her husband eventually donated his kidney to her, earning her a few more years.
“By December 2016, my kidneys were at a new low of 20% and plunging rapidly. And I faced two choices, either regular dialysis or a kidney transplant,” she said in her memoirs Tina Turner: My Love Story.
Turner said she was surviving but not living and that the toxins in her body had begun to take over. While Turner said she made peace with dying, she was still worried about the “how?” She reveals that in Switzerland, assisted suicide is legal, but she would have to administer the fatal dose to herself.
Turner admits her husband took it very hard and offered his kidney to save her. The transplant happened in 2017.
“Then he shocked me. He said that he wanted to give me one of his kidneys. I was overwhelmed by the enormity of his offer.” Tina admits she initially wanted to say no but eventually obliged. The transplant gained her an extra seven years.
Tina Turner passed earlier this week, with reports saying she died of “natural causes.”
