What happened to Jerry Lewis?

[Wag]

Telethon just came on. I heard he was sick and balooned up, but this is ridiculous. He must be at least 100lbs overweight.

 

[Zim Hosein]

To be honest Wag, I'm surprised he's still alive 😕

<-- Not meant to take anything away from the charitable work JL does 🙂

 

[wyvrn]

The drug he is taking for his disorder causes massive weight gain. He was on Larry King yesterday. They are weaning him off the drug since his lungs have recovered, but it takes 18 weeks. So he will be overweight for some time to come.

 

[Wag]

I take it it's the medication that makes him so overweight?

 

[Lvis]

He has some kind of auto-immune disorder. He has to take steroids to combat it. The steroids cause all the puffiness.

They thought my mom had the same thing last year, fortunately she didn't.

 

[CanOWorms]

I think he suffers from some disease/illness/whatever where he's in a lot of pain. He takes some sort of medication that causes him to gain a lot of weight.

 

[Nohr]

I think I saw him on Conan a few days ago.

 

[Talon]

I think he's been on steroids for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

 

[Wag]

That's too bad. Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease of the respiratory system, correct? From smoking?

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Wag
That's too bad. Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease of the respiratory system, correct? From smoking?

could have just been chronic bronchitis/asthma too...

yes Smoking for years did not help....

🙁

 

[pray4mojo]

I thought he had some sort of device implanted into his spine that intercepts the pain? He talked about it on Conan a few days ago.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Originally posted by: pray4mojo
I thought he had some sort of device implanted into his spine that intercepts the pain? He talked about it on Conan a few days ago.

Yeah, he talked about something like this on Conan.

 

[Talon]

I thought he had some sort of device implanted into his spine that intercepts the pain? He talked about it on Conan a few days ago.

Text

Pulmonary fibrosis is a scarring of the lung tissue. It can be associated with any of several auto-immune diseases, exposure to various chemicals or such things as asbestos. It can also be hereditary. There are different types and treatment varies according to type.

 

[Talon]

It's a wonder he has any spine left after all the stunts he performed during his career.

 

[Sepen]

Wow, I just turned the channel. Poor guy.

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Talon

I thought he had some sort of device implanted into his spine that intercepts the pain? He talked about it on Conan a few days ago.

Text

Pulmonary fibrosis is a scarring of the lung tissue. It can be associated with any of several auto-immune diseases, exposure to various chemicals or such things as asbestos. It can also be hereditary. There are different types and treatment varies according to type.

For decades, Jerry Lewis wowed audiences with his unique brand of physical comedy in movies such as "The Ladies' Man" and "The Nutty Professor."

But behind the gags, the funnyman was hiding a secret that was no laughing matter. "Everything and anything I ever did for 37 years had the kind of pain under it that would kill most people."

Lewis, 77, said the years of pratfalls in films and onstage severely damaged his spine.

For relief, he said he relied on heavy doses of pain medication and sought advice of medical experts from around the world.

"I spent a half-million dollars just traveling, doing, trying [and] bringing doctors to me," Lewis said.

But nothing helped. Even though the physical nature of his comedy continued to take a heavy toll on his body, Lewis said, performing also offered some welcome relief. "When I was onstage doing the work, adrenaline killed the pain because I never hurt in front of an audience," he said.

But the relief was short-lived. "When the curtain comes down, I need two stage hands to walk me to the dressing room that was only 50 feet away," he said. "So without the adrenaline, the pain got very severe."

Lewis said the pain was "so severe that I took a 9mm Beretta, put it on the counter. The pain was so bad I couldn't see."

Lewis said he was on the verge of suicide, but a last-minute call to his doctor saved his life. "He said, 'Listen, can you wait an hour before you blow your head off?' I said, 'Yes.' "

Lewis said that doctors rushed to his bedside and told him they wanted to attach a temporary neurostimulator to his back. The device generates a tiny electric current that blocks a nerve's ability to transmit pain.

For Lewis, the result was nothing short of a miracle. "I got up, and bang I was skipping all over the master bedroom."

Five days later, Lewis had a permanent stimulator implanted. "That was April 20 [last year], that was the last day I had pain."

Today, he carries a handheld device, which controls the amount of neural stimulation he needs for pain relief. Lewis later became a paid spokesman for the company that manufactures his implanted device.

The comedian also suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, an illness in which the lungs' air sacs are gradually replaced by scar tissue. To be able to breathe easier, he takes the steroid prednisone, which has given him a bloated appearance.

Lewis said there are things he can do now that he was unable to do when he was in pain, such as pick up his daughter, who is 11.

"She'll run to me, and I'll catch her and hold her up, one hand on the belly and one on her ankle. I've got her secure -- I learned that from Michael Jackson. When the pain got so severe, I couldn't do that."