Ozzy Osbourne details ‘agony’ of dealing with Parkinson’s disease, other health issues
Black Sabbath rocker underwent operation in June to remove metal plates from spine
Singer Ozzy Osbourne is opening up about his difficult health journey, including his recovery from a major operation this summer and his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease.
In a new interview with The Observer, the Black Sabbath rocker, 73, said that his June operation was to remove two metal plates that had been screwed into his spine in an earlier surgery.
His wife Sharon Osbourne previously described the surgery as one that would “determine the rest of his life.”
“The screws had come loose, and were chipping away at the bone. And the debris had lodged under his spine. So his spine, instead of being like this, was like this,” Sharon, straightening up then hunching over, told the outlet.
“With the pressing on the spinal column, I got nerve pain. I’d never heard of nerve pain!” Ozzy added.
“You know when you’re a kid, and you’re playing with snow and your hands get really cold? Then you go in and you pour on hot water, and they start getting warm? And you get those chills? And it [expletive] hurts? It’s like that.”
“It got so bad that at one point I thought: ‘Oh God, please don’t let me wake up tomorrow morning.’ Because it was [expletive] agony.”
The musician added that his ailments are often exacerbated by his Parkinson’s disease, which was diagnosed in 2003.
He said that he constantly struggles with walking.
“You think you’re lifting your feet, but your foot doesn’t move. I feel like I’m walking around in lead boots,” he added, noting that Parkinson’s had taken a toll on his mental health and left him depressed.
“I reached a plateau that was lower than I wanted it to be,” Ozzy said of his mental state. Nothing really felt great. Nothing. So I went on these antidepressants, and they work OK.”
But he said that the most frustrating aspect of Parkinson’s is not knowing where it will end.
The “Crazy Train” singer praised Sharon for her support in navigating his health problems, crediting her for enabling him to continue performing.
Sharon added that she won’t let her husband be defined by his Parkinson’s disease, and is now helping him tackle the muscle “atrophy” that’s weakened his body.
“He’ll never be what he was, but he will be good,” she assured.