According to his wife, Billy Connolly’s balance concerns caused “serious falls.”
After his balance deteriorated as a result of Parkinson’s disease, comedian Sir Billy Connolly experienced “a couple of serious falls,” according to his wife.
Since his diagnosis ten years ago, Pamela Stephenson claimed that her husband’s balance issue was the disease’s “most significant” symptom.
It had “added to the list of things that hold me back,” according to Sir Billy, 80.
For a Guardian story, the Scottish comedian and his wife discussed their experiences living with the chronic illness.
According to Sir Billy, “Recently I’ve noticed a deterioration in my balance,” he told the newspaper.
“That was never a problem previously, but it started appearing last year and hasn’t gone away.
I assumed it would go away for some reason because many of the symptoms have came and gone.
On the same day that Sir Billy received the all-clear from prostate cancer in 2013, he was also told he had Parkinson’s disease.
Five years later, he stopped doing live performances.
Parkinson’s disease causes portions of the brain to progressively deteriorate over many years and is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative ailment after Alzheimer’s disease.
Connolly: Parkinson’s disease challenges as it progresses
His wife and caregiver Stephenson told the newspaper that the loss of balance was the disease’s “most significant” complication, “especially since, regrettably, it resulted in you having a couple of serious falls.”
“It’s funny, that fall I had when I landed on my jaw reminded me of something I used to do on stage,” Sir Billy said.
I formerly uttered the phrase, “I fell out of bed, but fortunately my face broke my fall…
The “cruel disease,” Sir Billy claimed, felt like it was “encroaching upon” him and that it was “creeping up behind me and stopping me from doing things.”
Sir Billy revealed his wife now dresses him in the morning and has “to get lifts everywhere” because he can no longer drive. The couple also discussed how their relationship had changed after the comic was diagnosed.
Sir Billy told the newspaper that he enjoyed staying at home during the multiple Covid-19 lockdowns, calling it “one of the great surprises of my life.” Sir Billy is well renowned for his love of travel and has produced numerous travel documentaries over his career.
“I was instructed to stay at home, which I did and adored. My dogs even enjoyed it. Although we were fortunate to reside near a canal, which allowed us to take walks in a lush paradise, he said.
Currently, the pair lives in the Florida Keys, a chain of islands 120 miles off the Florida coast of the United States.
After a five-decade career, Sir Billy was knighted in 2017 for his contributions to entertainment and charity.
The Glaswegian is well recognized for his spontaneous and observational stand-up comedy, frequently mocking his hometown.
He has acted in a variety of movies, such as The Last Samurai, Indecent Proposal, and Absolution (with Richard Burton).