Elton John confirmed reports about his failing eyesight as a result of an infection he sustained over the summer. But his longterm prognosis is still unclear for now.
The 77-year-old made his remarks onstage during a charity gala performance of The Devil Wears Prada musical in London on Sunday, having written the score for the production. He thanked his longtime husband David Furnish, who he said has been his "rock" throughout the ordeal, according to CNN.
"I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight," John said. "So it’s hard for me to see it. But I love to hear it and, boy, it sounded good tonight."
The singer first opened up about the eye infection in an Instagram post back in September. At the time, he wrote that he had been "dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye."
"I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye," he continued. "I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks." He added that he had been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home and was feeling positive about his progress.
John likewise spoke about the eye infection during an interview with Good Morning America last week and admitted that the ailment was affecting his capacity to work.
"I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the south of France and it’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see, and my left eye is not the greatest," he told Robin Roberts. "So, there’s hope and encouragement that it will be OK, but … I’m kind of stuck at the moment, because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know, because I can’t see a lyric for a start."
It's still unclear what kind of eye infection John suffered or what the timeline for his recovery is, but hopefully he'll soon be back in the studio with the ability to read lyrics.
