LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Scottish actor Billy Connolly has provided an update on his health issues as Parkinson’s disease continues to impact his life deeply.
The 80-year-old actor and comedian appeared on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, October 12, marking 10 years since his diagnosis, detailing how it has "radically" changed his life.
“I'm clumsy and I lose my balance. I'm out of balance a lot and I fall," he said, adding "I’m fed up with it. I think I have a good attitude to it. I say to the disease, ‘I’ll give you a break if you give me a break.’ We’re nice to each other,” he quipped, stating that humor has gotten him through it all.
“I’ve always been easily made [to] laugh. I am lucky with my sense of humor. I can laugh myself out of most things,” he continued.
Billy Connolly was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013
Connolly explained that since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2013, he has observed his balance and memory deteriorating, resulting in him suffering “a couple of serious falls."
“I walk with a stick, and at airports I have to get the wheelchair,” he said, adding “I hate being dependent to that degree and I feel sorry for other people who are in wheelchairs and who have it worse than me. But, it’s a thing I just have to put up with.”
“I think most things can be conquered, especially the depression,” Connolly added.
“Depression is such a complex affair but you have to conquer it, take it on face-to-face and refuse to be part of it," he continued.
What is Parkinson's disease?
According to National Institute of Health, Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that affects the nervous system. It causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as a tremor in the hands, arms, legs or head, muscle stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination.
Gradually, symptoms worsen over time and as the disease progresses, people may have difficulty walking and talking. Moreover, it can also cause mental and behavioral changes, sleep problems, depression, memory difficulties, and fatigue.
Billy Connolly is heavily relied on his wife through his difficulties
Connolly said he’s relied on his wife Pamela Stephenson for daily tasks. “My wife puts my clothes on in the morning,” he said, adding “It’s not very manly. Your mum puts your clothes on.”
Connolly opened up about his life since being diagnosed with the disease in a BBC documentary titled 'Made In Scotland' back in 2019.
“My life, it’s slipping away and I can feel it and I should,” he said in a clip from the film.
“I’m 75, I’m near the end. I’m a damn sight nearer the end than I am the beginning. But it doesn’t frighten me, it’s an adventure and it is quite interesting to see myself slipping away,” he further said.
“There is no denying it, I am 75, I have got Parkinson’s and I am at the wrong end of the telescope of life. I am at the point where the yesteryears mean more than the yesterdays. Because it is back there in my childhood and youth when I go to all those things that made me that live keenest in my memory now,” he continued.
The comedian had to step back from work due to his illness
“Parkinson’s is strange because it is not going to go away,” Connolly explained.
“All my life I have got sick and I have got the flu and pneumonia various things and they all went away. This isn’t going anywhere. It is going to get worse. It takes a certain calm to deal with, and I sometimes don’t have it. I sometimes get angry with it, but that doesn’t last long, I just collapse in laughter,” he added.
He continued, “The good things are there, the love we have for people is still there, and with a bit of luck the love they have for you is still there. And I am very lucky in as much as I made a bit of a mark, and you think ‘well I must have done something right’. And that keeps you company when you are older, is the fact that when you were creative, you created well, it accompanies you, it is a great companion.”
