Connolly tells of his battle to come to terms with Parkinson’s
Sir Billy Connolly has told of his battle to come to terms with his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
The comedian said he had to work hard to see the “good things” in life after being told he had the disease. The Big Yin revealed the news was “bewildering” and that he had to face the fact there was no cure.
Connolly, 76, was diagnosed with the neurological condition seven years ago after a doctor spotted him walking strangely through the lobby of a hotel in Los Angeles.
In an interview with the Eastern Daily Press, he said: “It was bewildering. I was in a hotel lobby in LA and there was an Australian doctor who was staying there too with a dance troupe and knew who I was and he called me aside one night and said he had been watchingthewayiwalkedand suspected I had Parkinson’s disease. I went to see a doctor who confirmed it and it was strange getting the diagnosis, it was like being told you have cancer as you don’t know what to do and it is such a big statement. You need to get used to it and realise it is forever and it has definitely affected my movement on stage as I have to stay in one position instead of moving around.”
He added: “It is quite difficult [to keep a positive attitude]. I had to work at it to see the good side of things but my life was like that before Parkinson’s disease.”
Connolly made a rare public appearance at the weekend when he attended Celtic’s win over Dunfermline.
In the interview, he also said if he was prime minister he would hold another Brexit referendum.