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Is Country Superstar Willie Nelson Sick? Inside the Longtime Singer’s Health Battles Over the Years
Willie Nelson turned 91 in April 2024 and the country superstar is still enjoying life on stage. However, that doesn’t mean the singer hasn’t had a few health struggles along the way. So, how is Willie’s health these days?
Is Willie Nelson Sick?
Willie was diagnosed with emphysema, which is a type of COPD, in 2019. Emphysema is a chronic condition that affects the air sacs in a person’s lungs by damaging the walls between the sacs and can make breathing difficult, according to Medline. Before he revealed the official diagnosis from doctors, Willie canceled several concerts during his tour due to “breathing problems.”
After his diagnosis with the lung condition, Willie said that he changed his lifestyle to help alleviate the issues that come along with the disease.
“I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days, and I have to be careful,” Willie said in an interview with KSAT News.
The “Always on My Mind” singer also contracted COVID-19 in 2020 which also wreaked havoc on his health. Just a few days after Willie’s 89th birthday, he woke up on his tour bus struggling to breathe and he tested positive.
“I had a nebulizer on the bus. I started everything I could at that point, including Paxlovid. He had the monoclonal antibodies. He had steroids,’ Willie’s wife Annie D’Angelo explained in a 2022 interview with The New York Times. The former makeup artist said that they drove through the night to make it back home to their ranch in Spicewood, TX, and she was able to get a mobile medical unit out to check on Willie.
“We turned the house into a hospital,” Annie continued. “There were a couple of times when I wasn’t sure he was going to make it.”
Just two weeks later, Willie was back on the road, although he admitted that COVID wasn’t “nothing to laugh at.”
In June 2024, Willie canceled appearances at the Outlaw Music Festival Tour in Virginia.
“Willie Nelson will not be performing at tonight’s show in Virginia Beach. We expect Willie to return to the tour shortly,” a statement on his Instagram page said at the time.
In another statement days prior, it was revealed that he was canceling appearance because he was “not feeling well and per doctor’s orders, had been advised to rest for the next four days.”
Now, sources have told Closer that his team is dedicated to making sure he puts his health first.
“His recent illness took the wind out of him, and many feel his return to touring was a bit premature but there’s no talking sense to Willie when he’s got a blazing fire under him,” an insider told Closer in July 2024. “So, they’re doing what they can, hovering over him, making sure he eats and gets enough fluids and rests between sets.”
His team has made sure to help out in any way they can when it comes to the entertainer’s recent performances.
“He’s walked to and from stage by a member of the crew, as there are a lot of cables that could trip him up, and one fall for someone his age could be disastrous,” the Closer insider reveals. “His family is close by and watching him like a hawk. Willie has the best support team, and he’s much loved by everyone.”
It’s clear that in Willie’s mind, nothing will keep him from the stage for too long.
“They know how much performing means to him and doing everything possible to make him comfortable, bringing him teas and even his favorite CBD gummies if he wants,” the source added. “You’ve got to admire Willie. His body may be breaking down and feebler than ever before, but he’s got the spirit of an eagle.”
What Other Health Scares Has Willie Nelson Experienced?
The “On the Road Again” singer was the victim of a collapsed lung in 1981 after he overexerted himself on a jog and then ran into the ocean during a stay in Hawaii. The force of the waves and the extreme change in temperature led to his lung collapsing.
He recalled the experience in his docuseries Willie Nelson & Family, which premiered on Paramount+ on December 21, 2023. Willie said that he remembered laying on the beach while trying to gain enough strength to make it back to his hotel to call a paramedic. When an ambulance arrived, they had to reinflate Willie’s lung by running a tube through his back and ribs and into his lung. The procedure had to be repeated twice the next day.
