Carly Simon Announces She Has Parkinson’s Disease

Carly Simon has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The 83-year-old singer explained that she kept the news to herself at first, but was sharing it now so many people have been asking about her “relative silence” and withdrawal from public life.

“It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly,” Simon revealed in a statement provided to Rolling Stone. “Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself.”

“Parkinson’s disease is an illness that affects the part of your brain that controls how you move your body,” WebMD explains. “It can come on so slowly that you don’t even notice it at first. But over time, what starts as a little shakiness in your hand can have an impact on how you walk, talk, sleep, and think.”

Simon also revealed that in the midst of this adjustment, she was also treated for basal cell carcinoma – the most common type of skin cancer – on her face. “I have always been more critical of my appearance that anyone else could possibly imagine,” she explained.

“Between my mobility issues, the Parkinson’s diagnosis, the surgery, and the emotional effects of it all, withdrawing from public view was the most palatable reaction,” Simon continued. “But I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working. …I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering, and occasionally getting trapped in an overstuffed chair.”

As if to prove that point Simon recently announced her first new album in 17 years, Comes in Waves. “Music has always known when to arrive. It has rescued me more times that I can count,” she marvels. “It is like a cat or dog that quietly appears beside you when it senses you are not quite yourself.”

Read More: Carly Simon Announces New Album, ‘Comes in Waves’

“I am deeply grateful to my children, my family, my friends, my caregivers, and the medical professionals who have helped me through this,” Simon concludes. “Their love and patience have carried me through days when my own reserves were not enough.”