German rapper loses half his SKULL after being blasted by gas explosion as he cooked cannabis oil: ‘I made a huge mistake’
- Niko Brenner, 37, was cooking the oil when the butane gas bottles exploded
- He was blasted through the window of his studio apartment with severe burns
- The musician had half his skull removed to relieve pressure on his brain
- But Brenner said he is ‘grateful for the humility’ despite being partially paralysed
- WARNING: Graphic content
A German rapper who lost half his skull in a drug lab explosion has said he made a ‘huge mistake’ but is ‘grateful for the humility’.
Niko Brenner, 37, had been cooking cannabis oil in butane gas when the bottles exploded from a spark produced by his fridge.
The resulting blast engulfed his body in flames, while the force blew him off his feet and sent him flying through the window of his basement studio.
The incident left the musician critically injured with burns all over his body and caused his brain to swell.
Now Brenner – from Cologne, Germany – has told of his plight since the explosion on February 6, 2017.
‘Forty percent of the surface of my skin is burned. I’ve had almost 50 surgeries so far.
‘People think that the doctors took away half of my brain, but fortunately that’s not the case,’ he said with a wry smile.
Niko Brenner is pictured posing with a joint in his mouth before the accident in 2017
Brenner, who music is produced and released under the pseudonym Dr. Knarf, had almost half of his skull removed following the brutal explosion in order to relieve the pressure on his brain
He also suffered four strokes and has been paralysed on one side – he now relies on a wheelchair and a walking aid
Brenner said: ‘I made a huge mistake, drove my whole life up against the wall – and I’m paying the price for it’
Brenner, who music is produced and released under the pseudonym Dr. Knarf, had almost half of his skull removed following the brutal explosion in order to relieve the pressure on his brain.
He also suffered four strokes and has been paralysed on one side – he now relies on a wheelchair and a walking aid.
The father of a six-year-old boy said: ‘It hurts a lot that I will never be able to climb a tree with my son.’
Brenner claimed doctors had told him it is theoretically possible to reconstruct his skull bone with an implant, ‘but the problem is that there is not enough scalp due to the burns to reinsert a skull bone replacement’.
The musician said doctors initially tried to expand the skin by implanting a balloon filled with saline solution, but the device had to be removed after Brenner began suffering severe pain and inflammation.
When he saw himself for the first time after parts of his skull were removed, Brenner said: ‘It was an absolute shock. I looked like a monster. My son was one year old at the time. I was terrified that he wouldn’t even recognise me.’
He said the worst thing after the accident was ‘not walking, not being able to move properly anymore. It saddens me not to be able to play the guitar, piano and keyboards anymore.’
Brenner produces and releases his music under the pseudonym Dr. Knarf
The explosion left him with 40 per cent of his body burned and considerable brain swelling
‘Giving up is not an option, you have to keep going somehow,’ the rapper said. ‘Before, I was very egocentric and selfish. One insight I am grateful for today is a great deal of humility.’
‘People think that the doctors took away half of my brain, but fortunately that’s not the case,’ he said
The rapper’s ailments are not only physical and psychological but financial too.
He said: ‘I owe 250,000 euros for hospital costs and had to file for personal bankruptcy.’
And he is also threatened with trial for trading in narcotics and negligently causing an explosive blast.
Brenner said: ‘I made a huge mistake, drove my whole life up against the wall – and I’m paying the price for it.’
But these setbacks have not deterred the rapper, who has been archiving files for a historical research office since 2019.
He said: ‘Giving up is not an option, you have to keep going somehow. Before, I was very egocentric and selfish.
‘One insight I am grateful for today is a great deal of humility.’
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