Ozzy still hoping to rock fans after stem cell surgery
OZZY Osbourne is on the comeback trail after stem cell treatment to ease his debilitating back and neck injuries. The Black Sabbath frontman jetted to Panama to have the procedures as he battles to get back on stage to finish his farewell tour. He opted for this instead of risking an eight-week intense therapy package in Switzerland.
Ozzy fell at his Los Angeles home in January last year while recovering from pneumonia, dislodging metal rods in his body and “reinjuring” his back, neck and shoulders.
He has since been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. The Birmingham-born singer, 71, is now self-quarantining at his Beverly Hills home. Daughter Kelly, 35, revealed her dad is “frustrated” at staying indoors but he is “doing really good” after having a course of stem cell treatment in Panama a few weeks ago.
She said: “He wants to get up. He wants to do things. He wants to be part of the world again. He’s walking better. He’s talking better. His symptoms are lessening. He is building the muscle strength back he needs after his spine surgery.
“Everything is starting to fall into place now, and it has given us so much hope.
“He’s ready to get out of the house, and now he can’t get out of the house. He keeps saying to me, ‘I’ve been on quarantine for almost two years, and now I’m feeling better, and the world is on quarantine’.”
Kelly last saw her dad and mum Sharon before the Panama trip.
She said: “I did have a cry because I miss my parents and I’m really close with them, and
I’m used to seeing them every day and being with them every day. I’ve spent pretty much every day in the last year with my dad, and not being able to see him is hard.”
Kelly keeps in touch with them by phone. She said: “Every day I call them, and they’re giving me a list of things to watch. My dad has been sending me the most disgusting memes.”
But Kelly still plans to have tea with her parents and told US TV channel CBS: “I’m gonna be outside, and he’s gonna be inside, and we’re gonna have a little conversation because I miss him.”
Social-distancing is critical to Kelly, who has an #IStayHome ForOzzy initiative. She said: “If you don’t have someone to stay home for and you’re a fan of my dad, you can stay home for him because you know my father has COPD [lung disease], Parkinson’s and he is really, really high risk.
“My mum is high risk. She’s a two-time cancer survivor, chemo, everything.”
Kelly revealed a possible return to reality TV after The Osbournes and Osbournes Reloaded, this time also involving younger brother Jack’s family, though plans are on hold due to the pandemic.
She said: “There’s another generation of us, and I think it’s just a retrospective showing where we are now, versus where we [were]. I think people really want to
see it.”