Ozzy Osbourne has revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after a year of health problems.
During an interview with Good Morning America, the Black Sabbath frontman described 2019 as the “most painful and miserable year” of his life. He said he had been diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease after experiencing health complications, including needing surgery on his spine and neck, following a fall.
“I did my last show New Year’s Eve at the Forum. Then I had a bad fall. I had to have surgery on my neck, which screwed all my nerves and I found out that I have a mild form,” said Osbourne, 71, who reportedly dislodged metal rods that had been inserted in his body after a 2003 motorcycle accident.
The British musician was hospitalised for a staph infection in his right hand in 2018 and again a year later for pneumonia. In October, he was forced to postpone a European tour for a second time citing continuing health problems, but telling fans: “I’m not dying.”
His wife, Sharon Osbourne, 67, told the US breakfast programme that the diagnosis was “not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination”. She added: “It’s like you have a good day, a good day, and then a really bad day.”
Speaking to the show’s host, Robin Roberts, Osbourne said he was still taking numerous medications. “I’ve got numbness down this arm from surgery, my legs going cold,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s Parkinson’s or what. That’s the problem, because they cut my nerves when they did the surgery. It’s a weird feeling.”
