Jeff Bridges cheated death. Shortly after chemotherapy, he fell ill with Covid-19 – and almost died.
Oscar winner Jeff Bridges (72) almost died of a Covid 19 infection. In an interview with the “People” magazine, the Hollywood star, who is suffering from cancer at the same time, talks in detail about his ordeal of the last few months, which he himself only calls “a bizarre dream”. He first felt something unusual in his stomach one morning, Bridges says of the initial diagnosis of his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A doctor would have given him the shock message a little later.
“I had a 11″ by 9″ tumor in my body. It was like a kid in my body. It didn’t hurt or anything,” Bridges said. Chemotherapy was immediately initiated to shrink the tumor: “They had a cocktail for me that worked and worked quickly. The thing just imploded.” Nevertheless, his health deteriorated rapidly in January 2021. However, this was not due to the cancer as such, but to a Covid 19 infection.
“I had no defenses,” says Bridges about his difficult time. The cancer therapy would have massively weakened his immune system so that his body could not counteract the virus. He spent five months in a clinic in extreme pain. “I was very close to death,” says Bridges. Doctors kept telling him to fight harder. “I was in surrender mode. I was ready to go. I was dancing with my mortality,” he continues.
That’s how Jeff Bridges feels now
Due to plasma therapy, however, things suddenly went uphill again for him. Every day brought him some hope and strength. “I started taking baby steps,” Bridges said. A physiotherapist worked with him three times a week after the acute infection to help him recover. Now he is in the best of health. But things had changed for him – for the better.
After this difficult phase, what he enjoys most is spending time with his family. Since this health crisis, he appreciates having his wife, three daughters and three grandchildren by his side even more. “Who would say, ‘I would like to have cancer and Covid?'” Bridges said. For him, however, it turned out to be a stroke of luck, because his ability to give and receive love had increased: “Everything was boosted in the most beautiful way.”
