Ozzy Osbourne has been battling some pretty debilitating health issues over the last few years and says he doesn’t expect to live past another decade.
via Page Six:
The Prince of Darkness, 74, revealed in a Rolling Stone UK profile published Thursday what he recently told wife Sharon Osbourne after she was concerned over a joint he smoked.
“‘How long do you want me to f–king live for?!’” he told her. “‘At best, I’ve got 10 years left and when you’re older, time picks up speed.’”
Ozzy, who has said he has an assisted suicide pact in place with Sharon, also told the mag he doesn’t fear dying, but he doesn’t “want to have a long, painful and miserable existence.”
“I like the idea that if you have a terminal illness, you can go to a place in Switzerland and get it done quickly,” he added. “I saw my father die of cancer.”
Ozzy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003 but did not reveal he suffered from the progressive nervous system disorder until 2020.
However, his health took a turn for the worse when he underwent a major operation in June 2022.
The Black Sabbath frontman had a fourth spinal surgery to try and correct damage from a 2019 fall, which affected metal rods that were put in his body after a bike crash in 2003.
“It’s really knocked me about,” he told Rolling Stone UK. “The second surgery went drastically wrong and virtually left me crippled.
“I thought I’d be up and running after the second and third, but with the last one they put a f–king rod in my spine. They found a tumor in one of the vertebrae, so they had to dig all that out too.”
Ozzy then admitted, “It’s pretty rough, man, and my balance is all f–ked up.”
The “Crazy Train” rocker told the publication that he expected to be dead years ago, and instead, is taken aback by all of his close friends who are deceased.
“Why am I the last man standing? I don’t understand any of it,” he said.
“Sometimes I look in the mirror and go, ‘Why the f–k did you make it?!’ I’m not boasting about any of it because I should have been dead a thousand times.”
Referencing his past substance abuse issues, he added, “I’ve had my stomach pumped God knows how many times.”
Sharon, who was also interviewed for the profile, gave further insight into the “five years of heartache” she and her family have experienced due to seeing Ozzy go “through the pain.”
“He’s gone through all these operations and the whole thing has felt like a nightmare,” the “Talk” alum, 71, said.
“He hasn’t lost his sense of humor, but I look at my husband, and he’s here while everyone else is out on the road. This is the longest time he hasn’t ever worked for.”
Ozzy briefly returned to performing in August 2022 after his surgery but then announced he was retiring from touring about six months later due to his worsening health condition.
However, he told Rolling Stone UK that he would like to perform for his loyal fans one last time.
“That’s one of the things I’ve been the most f–king pissed off at: I never got the chance to say goodbye or thank you,” the “Iron Man” rocker said.
“Because my fans are what it’s all about. If I can just do a few gigs … For whatever reason, that’s my goal to work to. To do those shows.”
Back surgery is no joke!
