Jay Weaver, Bass Player of Christian Band Big Daddy Weave, Has Passed Away
Published Jan. 3 2022, 10:40 a.m. ET
The bass player of Big Daddy Weave, the contemporary Christian band behind albums like "When The Light Comes" and "Beautiful Offerings," has passed away after a prolonged health battle.
Jay Weaver (aka Jason Weaver) was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, said Mike Weaver, Jay's brother and the lead singer of the band, in an Instagram post shared on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2021. Here's what you should know about the tragedy.
Jay Weaver, the bass player of Big Daddy Weave, has passed away.
Jay was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, after contracting COVID-19, a recent Instagram post by Big Daddy Weave suggests. As Mike Weaver confirmed in a separate video posted on Jan. 2, 2021, Jay passed away after he came down with the illness.
"You have walked with him through a huge fight. I'm so sorry to bring this news, but I'm also excited to celebrate where he is right now," Mike told Big Daddy Weave fans. "My brother, Jay, went to be with Jesus just a couple of hours ago. Due to complications with COVID-19, on top of everything else that he already had going on."
In the Instagram video, Mike suggested that Jay's cause of death may have been COVID-19.
"You guys have seen him walk the uphill battle, and you guys have helped carry him through so much," Mike added. "COVID-19 might have taken his last breath, but Jesus was right there to catch him. I know that he is seeing things now that I long to see. We all just wanted to thank you for walking with us through so much for so long. The prayers for healing can turn into prayers of thanksgiving now that Jay is in God's presence."
Jay Weaver had both of his legs amputated in the summer of 2016 after contracting an infection.
In the summer of 2021, Jay had to quit touring, and eventually had both of his feet amputated in 2016 because of an infection.
"He had an extremely difficult week, culminating in side effects from his dialysis treatments causing him to be admitted into the intensive care unit yesterday," Big Daddy Weave wrote on Instagram. "The medical team is working to get his blood pressure stabilized and find the source of infection in his body that is causing him such severe pain."
Jay confirmed in a YouTube video that he had health troubles since he was a teenager.
"I was 18 [when we first went to the doctor]. I had some skin, almost like boils, but not really. We went to the doc, and she said [...] 'your cholesterol is too high.' My whole lipid panel was not in good shape," Jay explained in a YouTube video uploaded by Big Daddy Weave on Dec. 7, 2020. "I contracted a bacterial infection in both of my feet."
The infection started spreading after the doctors performed a procedure known as chelation, Jay added. "[Chelation] is meant to move out heavy metals in your blood. [It] opened up the capillaries in my leg. That was also what was holding the infection at bay."
Jay is survived by his wife, Emily, three kids, Mackenzie, Madison, and Nathan, his brother, Mike, and thousands of loving fans around the world.
