Elton John is speaking candidly about how his health condition is affecting his role as a dad.
In an interview with the British newspaper The Times, the musician, 78, said having limited vision in one eye following a “severe” infection has caused him stress while parenting.
“I can’t read. I can’t see my boys playing rugby and soccer, and it has been a very stressful time, because I’m used to soaking it all up. It’s distressing,” John said, referring to his two sons — Zachary, 14, and Elijah, 12 — whom he shares with husband David Furnish.
“You get emotional, but you have to get used to it, because I’m lucky to have the life I have,” he continued. “I still have my wonderful family, and I can still see something out of here.”
The “Your Song” singer, who just released a new album with Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels?, added: “You say to yourself, just get on with it.”
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John first revealed his vision loss last year, sharing in a post on Instagram that it occurred after he contracted an infection.
The infection, he further explained in a later interview with Good Morning America, was sustained while spending the summer in the south of France.
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“It kind of floored me, and I can’t see anything. I can’t read anything, I can’t watch anything,” John explained on the broadcast.
The singer-songwriter added that his “left eye’s not the greatest,” but he was “taking the initiative to try and get it better.”
John has been open about his health struggles as he ages in recent years — including how it all ties to him being a dad.
In his recently released documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, the artist said his two kids express fears about his death. “They think about my mortality. They worry about my mortality,” John said, adding, “Not so much David, but me.”
Furnish, 62, later told PEOPLE that the specific scene gave him “a lot of anxiety” to watch back.
“I don’t think it’s a conversation you want to have with your children. I don’t want to plant that seed in their mind,” Furnish, who co-directed the documentary with R.J. Cutler, said.
He continued, “Elton’s been through a lot, but he’s also as strong as an ox. He rarely cancels shows. He’s a strong man, and he’s a healer. He’ll probably outlive me. He’s just so tough.”
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