Michael Jackson's father Joe Jackson hospitalized as he battles terminal pancreatic cancer
The famous Jackson family patriarch and late 'King of Pop' Michael Jackson's father Joe Jackson is battling terminal cancer and is on his deathbed, Variety revealed in a new report. The family patriarch is currently bedridden with stage four pancreatic cancer and his condition is rapidly deteriorating.
Joe's family members, including his wife Katherine, visited him in the hospital this week, as per reports. The 89-year-old has suffered from a variety of ailments in recent years, including dementia, strokes, and at least one heart attack. Moreover, he had been injured in a car accident last year.
It is also being reported that there is currently a rift going on between members of the Jackson family and Joe Jackson's inner circle of handlers, as to who gets access to the father of Michael and Janet Jackson in his reported final days.
"No one knew what was going on — we shouldn't have to beg, plead, and argue to see our own father, especially at a time like this," Jermaine Jackson told the Daily Mail.
"We have been hurting. We were not being told where he was and couldn't get the full picture. Even from the doctor. My mother was worried sick. He's very very frail, he doesn't have long. The family needs to be by his bedside — that's our only intention in his final days," Jermaine continued.
Later, Jermaine took to her social media account in order to speak about the claims that her father might be going away very soon.
"My father's health is not good, but 'dying' is a harsh word chosen by headline writers, not me. For however long he has left, my mother, siblings, and relatives want to be with him, without hindrance," she wrote.
Joe Jackson has been living in Los Angeles for the past few years and one of his memorable public appearances in recent years was at the BET Awards in 2015. The legendary Jackson family member attended the event to witness his daughter Janet as she accepted the ultimate icon award. That same year, he suffered from a massive stroke, which left him with a temporarily blurred vision.
Recently, Joe's daughter Janet Jackson opened up about her struggle with depression and how she eventually found happiness in her journey to attain peace in life. The 52-year-old musician wrote, "When it comes to happiness, I’m no expert... I have only my life experience as a guide. I’ve known great happiness and great sadness. But I guess the key question is, What do I really know about happiness?”
The Grammy winner also noted that she struggled to find happiness in her 40s. She wrote, "In my forties: Like millions of women in the world, I still heard voices inside my head berating me, voices questioning my value... Happiness was elusive. A reunion with old friends might make me happy. A call from a colleague might make me happy. But because sometimes I saw my failed relationships as my fault, I easily fell into despair."
Jackson confessed that it is her son who brings her actual happiness. She said,"The height of happiness is holding my baby son in my arms and hearing him coo, or when I look into his smiling eyes and watch him respond to my tenderness... When I kiss him. When I sing him softly to sleep. During those sacred times, happiness is everywhere. Happiness is in gratitude to God. Happiness is saying, ‘Thank you, God, for my life, my energy and my capacity to grow in love."
The entertainer also pointed out that low-esteem can stem out of inferiority complex suffered in childhood. However, social issues such as racism, too, have a big role to play in putting an individual's confidence down. "And of course there are always the societal issues of racism and sexism," she said. "Put it all together and depression is a tenacious and scary condition. Thankfully, I found my way through it.”
