Rick Springfield has revealed he recently found out in a full body MRI scan that he still has brain damage from an onstage fall he took 25 years ago.
In an interview with People, Springfield shared he took a tumble while playing a concert in Las Vegas in 2000. “I fell 25 feet, hit my head, and then wood came down and hit my head, and then my head hit the stage again,” he said. “I thought I had just broken my wrist, but on the scan I found out I have some brain damage from the fall, so I’m working on trying to repair that.”
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Springfield explained he learned a lesson to get checked out at the doctor from his father’s death: “He thought he had stomach cancer for years and never got it checked out. When he finally collapsed one day at home, they found out it was an ulcer that burst, and he died from the loss of blood. It could have been fixed if he had gotten it checked out.”
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“That was a giant message to me: If you want to live long, you have to be prepared for some bad news now and then,” he added. “I could find out I have terminal cancer tomorrow and be dead in a year, but I can only do all I can do.”
Otherwise, the 75-year-old artist has been taking care of himself through daily exercise, a mostly pescatarian diet, and cutting back on alcohol. “I’ll have a couple of sips of vodka or something when I’m onstage, but I don’t drink any other time,” he said.
Limiting booze has also helped Springfield combat depression along with other unconventional methods. Last month, the musician told People he prefers micro-dosing LSD for his depression over ketamine therapy.
Springfield is set to embark on his “I Want My ’80s Tour” with John Waite and Wang Chung in late May, featuring dates in Charlotte, Cincinnati, Atlantic City, Dallas, and more. Tickets can be purchased here.
