Daily Times

Singer and songwriter Ozzy Osbourne revealed on Tuesday that he is battling Parkinson’s disease in an interview on ‘Good Morning America.’

The singer received the diagnosis last February after a string of health setbacks, including a near-deadly staph infection and a fall that damaged his nervous system. He’s treating the disease with medication. Ozzy said that he felt guilty holding back the diagnosis from his fans.

“I found out I have a mild form of … what is it?” the singer asked his wife, Sharon, in the interview. “PRKN 2, which is a form of Parkinson’s,” she said. “There’s so many different types of Parkinson’s. It’s not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination, 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.”

Osbourne said he has been experiencing other symptoms as well that may or may not stem from Parkinson’s. “I got a numbness down this arm from the surgery; my legs keep going cold,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s the Parkinson’s or what, you know, but that’s – see, that’s the problem. Because they cut nerves when they did the surgery. I’d never heard of nerve pain, and it’s a weird feeling.”

Sharon said that in April Ozzy would be seeing a professor in Switzerland who helps people with their immune systems so they can help differentiate and distinguish the causes of his symptoms. “We’re going to go wherever we can go to seek answers,” she said. Ozzy added, “We’re lucky enough to be able to afford to do that.”

Osbourne said he has been experiencing other symptoms as well that may or may not stem from Parkinson’s. ‘I got a numbness down this arm from the surgery; my legs keep going cold,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if that’s the Parkinson’s or what, you know, but that’s — see, that’s the problem’

Ozzy said that talking about the disease made him feel as though a weight had been lifted. “I feel better now that I’ve owned up to the fact that I have a case of Parkinson’s,” he said. “And I just hope [my fans] hang on and they’re there for me because I need them.” He called his fans his “air.” He added that he cannot wait to get back on the road. “I ain’t done yet,” he said. “I ain’t gonna go anywhere yet.” He’s scheduled to return to North American arenas for another leg of his No More Tours 2 tour this spring, beginning with a show in Atlanta.

Last January, Osbourne tripped in the middle of the night and fell in his house, causing a hospitalization that would subsequently require two months recovering from neck surgery. In an interview with Rolling Stone last August, Osbourne detailed just how difficult his recovery had been. “For the first, say, four months, I was absolutely in agony,” he said. “I was in agony beyond anything I ever experienced before in my life. It was awful. I’m taking physical and occupational therapy classes, but the progress is very slow.” Osbourne learned about the Parkinson’s diagnosis during this time, he said on GMA.

During his time recovering, he recorded a guest appearance on Post Malone’s song “Take What You Want.” The experience inspired him to make a new album, Ordinary Man, which will come out next month. The record features guest appearances by Elton John, Slash, Tom Morello and Post Malone, among others.