Following severe infection, music icon Sir Elton John has been left with “limited vision” in one eye.
The 77-year-old singer took to Instagram to share details of his condition, stating he’s recovering.
“Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.”
The “Rocket Man” crooner added that he was “so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me.”
Fellow musicians and fans sent their well wishes. “Prayers for healing, Sir Elton. ❤️🩹❤️🩹,” a fan wrote. Another person shared similar sentiments, “Praying for healing for your eye🙏.” Someone else showed their support with, “Love❤️and prayers🙏❤️🩹🙌❤️.”
Designer Donatella Versace commented: “Sending you so much love Elton! Feel better soon. Love you.” Tennis legend Billie Jean King wrote: “Sending our love and support your way. Feel better soon, friend.”
This isn’t the first time the musician to experience health issues.
Back in 2017, he was diagnosed with cancer, and in order to prevent it from spreading any further, he chose surgery over chemo treatments. Once known for working at a 120-show-per-year pace, Sir Elton John said he found himself “24 hours from death,” and that forced him to reconsider his priorities in life.
“Effectively my kids made the decision for me. I didn’t like the idea of cancer hanging over me—us—for years to come: I just wanted rid of it,” he wrote in his 2019 memoir, simply titled Me.
Sadly, some ten days after the surgery, he began to develop agonizing pain resulting from a complication with his lymph nodes which caused them to leak fluids, as reported by Yahoo. He was on and off hospital for around two and a half months before doctors accidentally cured him. “A routine colonoscopy shifted the fluid permanently, days before my 70th birthday,” John wrote in his book, which was serialized in The Daily Mail.
Sadly, as he thought his troubles were over, he contracted a major infection in South America and was close to death.
“In a strange way, it felt like the time I spent recuperating was the answer to my prayers: if you want more time, you need to learn to live like this, you have to slow down,” the singer said. “It was like being shown a different life, a life I realized I loved more than being on the road,” John added. This made him make a decision to stop touring. “I want to be there for all of it,” he said of spending time with his sons.
In 2023, the five-time Grammy winner experienced another health issue when he fell at his villa in Nice, France, leading to a brief hospitalization. He was later discharged.