Ozzy Osbourne has had a ‘terribly challenging’ 2019 after struggling with constant health battles that led him to discover having Parkinson’s.
The rock legend was diagnosed with the disease and decided to open up about his diagnosis as he was running out of excuses.
Furthermore, the star had his fair share of battles with pneumonia, staph infections, a quad bike accident and many surgeries over the years.
Ozzy Osborne’s Battle With Parkinson’s
After suffering a fall in his bathroom, Ozzy found out about the disease.
He told Good Morning America: ‘(This year) has been terribly challenging for us all. I had to have surgery on my neck which screwed all my nerves in.
‘I’ve got numbness down this arm from the surgery. My legs feel going cold.’
The Prince of Darkness, 71, has to take Parkinson’s medication as well as nerve pills.
He continued: ‘I don’t know if that’s the Parkinson’s or what, you know, but that’s — see, that’s the problem. Because they cut nerves when they did the surgery. I’d never heard of nerve pain, and it’s a weird feeling.
‘Coming from a working-class background, I hate to let people down. I hate to not do my job.’
Ozzy Osborne’s Bathroom Fall
Ozzy discovered he has Parkin 2, a form of the disease, when he took a nasty fall in his bathroom last year, which prompted him to cancel his world tour.
According to his son Jack, Ozzy ‘tripped over a shoe getting into bed after peeing.’
The fall resulted in 15 screws in his spine.
‘When I had the fall it was pitch black, I went to the bathroom and I fell,’ the singer said.
‘I just fell and landed like a slam on the floor and I remember lying there thinking, “Well, you’ve done it now,” really calm. Sharon [called] an ambulance. After that, it was all downhill.
‘[It was the]… worst, longest, most painful, miserable year of my life…’
Ozzy Osborne’s Pneumonia and Bronchitis Diagnosis
In February 2019, the Black Sabbath singer – married to Sharon Osbourne – suffered from a bout of pneumonia and bronchitis, which had him hospitalised for weeks.
The singer originally thought he simply had the flu, but his condition worsened.
He had to postpone his tour as he recovered, with one statement on his official Facebook saying: ‘After seeing his physician again, Osbourne has been diagnosed with a severe upper-respiratory infection which the doctor feels could develop into pneumonia given the physicality of the live performances and an extensive travel schedule throughout Europe in harsh winter conditions.’
Ozzy Osborne’s Staph Infection
The pneumonia came after surgery on his right hand in October 2018, which happened after contracting a potentially deadly staph infection.
In October 2018, his right thumb had swollen to ‘the size of a f**kin’ lightbulb after a gig.
Ozzy struggled to put on a thumb ring he regularly wears and the finger got larger overnight until it was 10 times bigger than usual.
He said: ‘I freaked out.’
Ozzy immediately showed it to his wife and she took him to the emergency room where he learned of the staph infection.
Four shows were cancelled.
Ozzy Osborne’s Quad Bike Incident
This wasn’t the only time the icon spent time in the hospital, as 2003 had him hospitalised for two months after a quad bike ordeal.
His heart stopped beating following the accident and even needed three operations.
The accident happened at his Buckinghamshire home and left him with a broken neck vertebra.
He even broke his collarbone and six ribs.
So far, Ozzy’s life has been like a final destination movie but he joked he would have ’33 lives’ if he was a cat.’
Speaking to The Sun, Ozzy had said: ‘I overdosed on drugs many times so I am lucky to be here anyway. I’ve had so many brushes with death that I’m the Comeback Kid. If I was a cat I’d have 33 lives.’
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