I just can’t wait to get back on the road again. I need it.. that is my drug
– OZZY OSBOURNE YESTERDAY
deathbed, he wanted to “own up” to his condition for the sake of his fans.
He told US TV host Robin Roberts on Good Morning America: “It’s been terribly challenging for us all. I did my last show New Year’s Eve (2018) at The Forum (in LA). I had to have surgery on my neck, which screwed all my nerves. I found out that I have a mild form of...”
Here he broke off and looked to Sharon, who said he has stage 2 Parkinson’s. Sharon, 67, added: “There are so many different types of Parkinson’s. It’s not a death sentence, but it does affect certain nerves in your body. It’s like you have a good day, a good day and then a really bad day.”
Birmingham-born Ozzy said it is not clear whether the fall, the operation or his condition was to blame for his symptoms.
He added: “A year ago I was in a terrible state. I’m on a host of medication, mainly for the surgery. I’ve got numbness down this arm and my legs are going cold. I don’t know if it’s the Parkinson’s or what. That’s the problem.”
The US-based couple said they have exhausted the medical options there and now plan to travel to Switzerland in April to seek advice from a professor who specialises in the condition.
Sharon spoke of the difficulty of putting on a brave face, saying: “I have to be there for Ozzy and for the family. Because if I break down and their dad... it’s like, no, you just can’t do it.”
Steve Ford, of Parkinson’s UK, said yesterday: “Ozzy Osbourne bravely speaking about his Parkinson’s diagnosis and his journey to ‘owning it’ will do so much to raise awareness of
This is the longest he’s been home, he needs to get back out there SHARON OSBOURNE SAYS OZZY MUST TOUR
this much misunderstood condition.” Some 145,000 people in the UK live with Parkinson’s.
Last November, Ozzy announced his No More Tours 2 tour, originally due to begin this month, would be pushed back to October.
He said in a statement at the time: “I can’t wait to get off my a**e and get going again but you’re just going to have to be a bit more patient. I want to be 100 per cent ready to come out and knock your f ***** g socks off.”
Ozzy found fame with Black Sabbath in the 70s and was dubbed the Prince of Darkness, shocking fans with stunts including biting the head off a bat.
He was fired from the band in 1979 due to drug and alcohol abuse but the band have reunited several times, particularly at Ozzfest, a festival he founded with Sharon.
He wed Sharon in 1982 and went on to have three children with her including Kelly, 35, and Jack, 34, who found fame of their own after appearing with their parents on MTV reality show The Osbournes from 2002 to 2005. He has three kids from a previous marriage.