Carly Simon is returning to the spotlight after years away to reveal that she has quietly been dealing with some health challenges.
The Academy Award-winning singer-songwriter, 83, shared a statement with HELLO!, in which she stated candidly that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and basal cell carcinoma over the past few years.
Carly Simon on where she's been
"So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing," she began. "The truth is, I've been learning how to live with Parkinson's disease."
© Sally TaylorThe "You're So Vain" singer explained that she at first had difficulty deciding on how much she wanted to share publicly about the disease and her own struggles with it, especially as she came to terms with it herself. "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."
"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."
© Getty ImagesReceiving her diagnosis
Carly noted that it all began when she underwent surgery to replace both her knees and her hip due to arthritis, but when she still felt pain, she and her family realized something was still wrong. "I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm."
"Overstuffed furniture became my enemy," she quipped. "Once seated, I could feel as though I had been swallowed by the chair and might remain there permanently, like a guest who had badly overstayed her welcome."
© Carly SimonAfter receiving her diagnosis from the Mayo Clinic, Carly began her round of medication, and also noted that along with the physical ramifications of the disease, it also affected her mental health. "It can bring anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and apathy. The apathy is particularly strange," she penned.
"You can find yourself lying there like a starfish drying in the sun, arms pointing in all directions, while nothing inside is telling you to get up, read, watch, write, sing, call someone, or do much of anything at all," the singer added.
© Sally TaylorUndergoing surgery for cancer and leaving the spotlight
She also revealed that, to add to her mobility issues with Parkinson's, she underwent surgery to remove basal cell carcinoma from her face during that time, which further influenced her decision to keep out of public view. "I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine (check out the irony of having written 'You're So Vain.'), and this gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material."
"But I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working," she reassured her fans, outlining how she found healing and rejuvenation while working on and recording music for her upcoming album Comes in Waves. Set to release on August 14, the album is her first full set of new material since 2008's This Kind of Love. A new single from the record, "Peaches," is set for release on Friday, July 31.
© Getty ImagesWhy Parkinson's isn't "a gift of a blessing"
"I do not consider Parkinson's a gift or a blessing. It is neither," the "Coming Around Again" hitmaker honestly admitted. "It is difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening. I am still learning how to live with it and how to accept it without feeling that I have surrendered something essential."
While expressing her greatest support to her family, especially her two children Sally and Ben, plus medical professionals who'd assisted her, Carly concluded her statement with: "I wanted to share this now because so many people have reached out with genuine concern."
© Getty Images"I am touched by that concern, even when I have not known how to respond. These days I move more slowly, I lean on others more than I once did, and I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different. But I am still very much here."
