Ozzy Says He’s Still “in Unbelievable Pain 24/7”
Despite Ozzy’s long string of health woes as he limps through his 71st year on earth, I’ll say this: the man has been remarkably candid and honest about his struggles, both his physical limitations/injuries and the mental challenges that come along with them. I really respect that. It’d be so easy to just wallow in self-pity or avoid the press entirely, but instead he’s out there promoting his brand new album (out today! read our review here) like a champ.
In a new interview with The Sun, Ozzy reveals he’s still “in unbelievable pain 24/7,” and outlines how challenging the recovery from his injuries has been:
“I remember it like it was yesterday. I was lying there as clearly and as calmly as anything, thinking, ‘Well Ozzy, you’ve f***ing done it now’. I have to take all these painkillers but I’m dying for all the opiate stuff I can’t have. The nurse keeps my medication so I don’t take anything apart from what they give me. I have to be helped to change, to have a bath . . . it’s just f***ing awkward, you know?”
Speaking of his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, which he announced on national TV last month and later revealed he’d been battling since 2003, Ozzy explains that managing the condition hasn’t been bad compared to what he’s been through recently:
“If I had a choice between the Parkinson’s and the f***ing neck, I’d go for the Parkinson’s. I’ve been laid up for a year now. First I had an infection in my hand — that pulled me off the road — then I got pneumonia, then I had the fall, then I had surgery and here I am today. It’s driving me nuts.”
He also sought to clarify that the version of Parkinson’s he has is a relatively mild form:
“It’s like, ‘Dun, dun, duuuuun . . . Ozzy’s got Parkinson’s’. But I actually have a thing called PRKN 2. It’s not mainstream Parkinson’s like Michael J Fox’s, but a milder form, I’m glad to say. It affects regular things — like if you get a cold, it could be the Parkinson’s. Or if I get a stiff leg, I think, ‘Is it the Parkinson’s?’ What I have makes ordinary living a bit more complicated.
“The problem I’m having right now is with my neck. After the fall a year ago, I ended up having surgery on the area first damaged by my quad bike accident. It has caused far more problems than the Parkinson’s. I was still doing shows with the diagnosis.”
Read the rest of the interview over at The Sun. Ozzy recently canceled all of his North American tour dates but still plans to tour Europe in the fall with Judas Priest.
