Ozzy Osbourne Health Update: What Is Parkinson's Disease And What Are The Symptoms?

Things are looking grim for Ozzy Osbourne on the health front. The 71-year-old artiste opened up about his battles with Parkinson’s during an interview on the show, “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. Osbourne who was with his wife Sharon at the time of the reveal maintained that the past one year has been tumultuous, to say the least.

Osbourne is on heavy medications to treat his nerve pain. While his health struggles are little over a year old, a fall in the past year made matters worse—leaving doctors confused as to whether his receding health has anything to do with the accident. Despite not wanting to divulge much about his current health condition, Osbourne was compelled to address the same as malicious rumors about him being close to his deathbed made the rounds.

“It has been terribly challenging for us,” he said, on the show. “I had to have surgery on my neck which screwed all my nerves. I found out that I have a mild form of...,” he added. Sharon seemed to be supportive all throughout while elaborating about his condition. “It's Parkin 2 which is a form of Parkinson's. There are so many different types of Parkinson's,” she said. His daughter Kelly and son Jack were present as well.

Osbourne, who seemed guilty about not opening up about his disease, emphasized how it hurt to not be able to contribute to his family anymore. 'Coming from a working-class background, I hate to let people down,” he said, adding, “I hate to not do my job. When I see my wife going to work, my kids going to work - that gets me down because I can't contribute to my family.”

Undeterred by his condition, Osbourne is determined to get back to work. “I just can't wait to get well and get on the road again that's what’s killing me. I need it you know- that's my drug,” said the “Black Sabbath” singer, adding, “I ain't going anywhere yet.”

Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating health condition that causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability. The nerve disease, which is incurable at present, offers medication as a respite for the patients who’ve contracted the condition. Some of the most common symptoms are:

1) Loss of automatic movements: Patients may suffer from a genuine disability in regards to performing unconscious movements like blinking, swinging or smiling.

2) Impaired posture and balance: Patients often suffer from balance problems or posture-related issues.

3) Muscle stiffness: The rigid muscles may often limit your range of motion, and the stiffness is often very painful.

4) Speech changes: People diagnosed with the condition offer suffer from speech challenges—more of a monotone rather than inflections.

5) Slowed movement: Parkinson’s disease slows your bodily movements, hence making you a lot longer to perform simple tasks.