Morrissey has shed some on the state of his health following a battery of ailments that led to the cancellation of his entire North American tour. He has been resting up near Mexico City, where he gave an interview to radio station Reactor 105.7. He explained that the ulcer, the Barrett’s esophagus, and the double pneumonia are all related to internal bleeding that weakened his immunity and caused him to become anemic. Doctors have suggested that he retire from music.
“I had a very bad time,” he said, according to MSN. “I had internal bleeding and I was rushed into hospital and I had lost a lot of blood. They tried to patch me together over the following five weeks but it didn’t work … I was on lots of IV drips for almost five weeks, and each time it seemed as though I was back to robust health I would decline … I had lost so much blood I had become anemic, but I’m still receiving ongoing treatment and I am very optimistic now.”
He went on: “It almost became absurd the number of things that happened to me, but everything just attacked me at once. The double pneumonia — everything was really a result of the fact I had lost so much blood, so the immune defenses were very, very low and couldn’t cope with anything, so therefore the slightest gust of wind and I would have a terrible cold.” At his recent Los Angeles performance, he often held his side in what appeared to be discomfort.
Asked if retirement has been suggested, Morrissey said, “I have been cautioned to, but it’s difficult for me because it’s very ingrained in me.” And of course, the former Smiths frontman has done an ace job at transforming pain into art over his three decades of making music. Ulcer or no, dyspeptic is pretty much the legendary singer’s M.O. Just ask all of those teenage girls to whom the crushing truths of reality were recently revealed.
