Is Alan Jackson OK? Country singer reveals battle with 'non-curable' nerve condition
Alan Jackson revealed to his fans a disease he’s been battling for years. The 62-year-old country singer said that he’s suffering a 'no cure' degenerative neurological condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease for the better part of a decade, in the 'Today' show, Tuesday, September 28. "It’s not going to kill me. It’s not deadly, " Jackson said of the disease he inherited from his father. "But it’s related (to) muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease, " he added.
"I have this neuropathy and neurological disease. There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years. And it’s getting more and more obvious. And I know I’m stumbling around onstage. And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable, " Jackson further said. Speaking with Jenna from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Jackson informed that he was diagnosed with CMT ten years ago.
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Alan Jackson, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2017, doesn't plan on stepping out of the spotlight anytime soon. "I never wanted to do the big retirement tour, like people do, then take a year off and then come back. I think that's kinda cheesy. And I'm not saying I won't be able to tour. I'll try to do as much as I can, " Jackson said. Jackson’s wife of nearly 42 years, Denise Jackson, noted that despite the condition, the couple has lived many good years. "The happy side of that is we’ve had a fairytale life, " she said. "He’ll have so many songs for our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren to hear and know who he was." CMT affects the peripheral nervous system and causes balance problems. The illness, however, does not alter life expectancy.
Often described as a man who 'single-handedly kept traditional country music alive, ' Jackson said that he's happy that he's now at a point in his career where he can focus on making only what he wants to make. "I feel a little more freedom now, because I'm not trying to worry about getting on the radio and fitting into their limitations," he explained.
