Nearly one year after he was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, Billy Joel is on the mend and hopes to make it back out on tour, his daughter Alexa Ray Joel revealed.
“He’s doing physical therapy regularly and he’s doing great,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.
“He’s lost weight as he’s on his diet. I’m so proud of him,” 40-year-old Alexa Ray continued. “He’s such a trooper, so resilient and committed to being healthy and proactive. He’s a fighter. He’s always been a fighter and talks in his documentary about how life’s like a fight.”
“The New York State of Mind” singer shares Alexa Ray, with his ex-wife Christie Brinkley. He also has daughters Della Rose, 10, and Remy Anne, 8, with his current wife, Alexis Roderick.
The musician shared last May that he’d been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a condition that occurs when fluid buildup disrupts brain function and can “affect several brain-related abilities, including thinking and concentrating, memory, movement and more,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
A statement on Joel’s Instagram at the time said the condition had “been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance.” It came shortly after the “Piano Man” crooner suffered a fall on stage at the Mohegan Sun.
“He played it down,” Alex Ray said of the incident. “He knows I have anxiety and am a neurotic worrier, so he was like, ‘Everything’s fine. It was just a little trip.’ When I saw the footage, I was crying. But then I went with him to the doctors, and we’re on top of everything. I just tell him to stay healthy.”
Alexa Ray added that her father is aspiring to go back on tour, but said she has ground rules in place for when that happens.
“Once a performer, always a performer!” she says. “But health comes first. I said, ‘If you’re going to perform again, please stay seated at the piano. No throwing the microphone stand around!’”
