Ozzy Osbourne is sharing his experience of what it is like living with Parkinson's disease.
The rock icon, who in 2020 revealed his diagnosis, spoke candidly about his various health struggles in an interview with The Guardian.
"You think you're lifting your feet, but your foot doesn't move," Osbourne said of the disease. "I feel like I'm walking around in lead boots."
Osbourne found himself in the grips of depression as a result of the disease and eventually turned to medication to alleviate the symptom. He described reaching a mental plateau that was "lower than I wanted it to be." Nothing, he said, "felt great."
So he started taking antidepressants, which he said were working OK for him.
"The worst thing though about living with Parkinson's, is that there is no end to the disease in sight," he said.
"You learn to live in the moment, because you don't know [what's going to happen]," he explained. "You don't know when you're gonna wake up and you ain't gonna be able to get out of bed. But you just don't think about it."
In the interview, Osbourne also spoke about undergoing major neck surgery earlier this year. He was initially injured during a quad biking accident in 2003, which was worsened after he suffered a fall in 2019 at his home.
Fifteen screws were inserted into his spine. The latest surgery was to remove two metal plates. Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, who was included in the interview, explained that screws had come loose and "were chipping away at the bone."
The debris lodged under Ozzy Osbourne's spine. He described the excruciating pain to The Guardian.
"With the pressing on the spinal column, I got nerve pain," he said. "I'd never [expletive] heard of nerve pain! You know when you're a kid, and you're playing with snow and your hands get really cold? Then you go in and you pour on hot water, and they start getting warm? And you get those chills? And it [expletive] hurts? It's like that."
Osbourne has since made a recovery and marked his return to the stage with a surprise appearance with Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi earlier this month at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. Now the rock legend is hoping to get back on tour. Commenting on hitting the road again, Osbourne said he was determined to give it his "best shot."
"You have not seen the end of Ozzy Osbourne, I promise you," he said. "If I have to go up there and die on the first song, I'll still be back the next day."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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