Billy Connolly says he's losing his hearing and has 'started to drool' amid Parkinson’s battle: 'Bits of me are falling off'
Sir Billy Connolly, who has taken a recess from performing live shows after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, recently shared his struggles with his illness as it entered more advanced stages.
“This disease, it gives you a new thing to deal with every now and again. I walk unsteady. My hearing is going. It’s bizarre that bits of me are falling off—but it’s interesting," he told Chris Evans on his' Virgin Radio' show, Independent reported.
The Glasgow comedian further added that despite his deteriorating health, he was “getting by” and that "life is good."
Unfortunately for his fans, the 76-year-old said that he had no plans of performing in front of an audience in the near future. “I don't think the way I used to," Connolly said. "I may perform at some other point, but I have no plans to. And I'm quite happy taking my medicine and getting along with it."
He went onto describe some more symptoms of the disease. "I’ve started to drool. That’s a new one for me. This disease, it gives you a new thing every now and again that you have to deal with, and drooling is my latest," he said.
He also added that he hated it when people called Parkinson’s disease "incurable," although there has been no remedy discovered for the illness as of yet.
“A doctor in America told me it’s incurable and I said, ‘Get a grip on yourself, say we’ve yet to find a cure, give a man a light at the end of the tunnel'. Incurable is such an awful thing to say to somebody," he said.
Connolly was diagnosed with the disease in 2013. His career spanned 60 years with Connolly becoming well-known for his energetic and gregarious performances.
At present, he is looked after by his wife, the columnist and comedian Pamela Stephenson Connolly. Together they have three children, and Connolly has another two children from his first marriage.