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Hoping for the best. Danny Bonaduce is optimistic that his upcoming brain surgery will help him to walk on his own again following a mystery illness.
“My life was talking to doctors. I had meetings with five doctors on one single day, and nobody could figure out what it was,” the 63-year-old actor told TMZ on Friday, June 2. “And I thought, ‘Well, this is a big deal. I’m falling down now. That can’t be good.’”
The Partridge Family alum revealed that he was recently diagnosed with hydrocephalus, which is a neurological disorder that leads to fluid in the brain and has affected his ability to walk. To combat the effects, he is set to undergo surgery on Monday, June 5, that will place a stent and a drainage port in his brain.
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“From what I hear, if the diagnosis is correct, it’ll be 50 percent better right [away]. But I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Bonaduce told the outlet. “I don’t wanna get my hopes up too much that I’ll be cured.”
The radio host confessed: “I will be completely bummed out if this doesn’t work. I can’t walk currently, I just can’t.”
Even with the surgery, the Pennsylvania native knows his life won’t fully go back to normal. “I’m never gonna run track. I’m never gonna box again,” he said. “But if I can get from here to the kitchen on my own, bravo.”
Bonaduce’s procedure comes more than one year after he took a temporary medical leave from The Danny Bonaduce & Sarah Morning Show amid his health problems.
“I’ll share more when I know more, as I’m still working towards receiving a diagnosis. What I do know is I need some time to focus on my health right now,” he wrote via Instagram in April 2022, revealing that he was currently walking with a cane. “I love my job and talking to you guys and I’ll be back on the air very soon. Charlie Chaplin, Willy Wonka, Danny Bonaduce. I’ve joined the club of cool guys with canes.”
Looking back, the Baker’s Hawk actor told TMZ that he is still unsure why his health started to decline.
“I can’t figure out what caused it, ’cause I’ve done so many stupid things on reality TV shows,” he confessed on Friday. “I took a guitar to the head. That hurt — and was possibly the cause of all this. I got punched in the face by José Canseco, a 265-pound professional athlete. And by the way, I didn’t hit the floor.”
