Jeff Bridges has had his fair share of health scares over the last couple of years.
So much sure, that he was convinced he was on his deathbed.
The actor was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2020, and it wasn’t much later that he tested
positive for the CoronaVirus.
Jeff made sure to keep his fans updated with his progress, and it was clear he was fighting
with all his might to stay alive.
Jeff Bridges knew something was wrong two years ago when he was exercising and felt
like he had an extra "bone" in his stomach.
While he didn’t feel any pain, he immediately went to the doctor, who ran some tests to
figure out what the problem was.
While filming for the TV series, ‘The Old Man’ in 2020, Jeff Bridges got the call
that everyone dreads most of all.
It turned out that what felt like a bone in his stomach was actually a nine-by-twelve-inch
tumor in his abdomen.
He was told that he had been diagnosed with Lymphoma, and suddenly everything in his life
changed.
Bridges first revealed his cancer diagnosis to the world on Twitter, and even referenced
the 1998 cult classic ‘The Big Lebowski’.
He shared, "As the Dude would say...
New shit has come to light.
Although it is a serious disease, I feel fortunate that I have a great team of doctors and the
prognosis is good."
The actor admitted that after finding out the shocking news, “everything became hyper-precious.”
The filming for the show was later put on hold due to the international pandemic, and
what followed was what Jeff described as a two-year “health adventure.”
He shared, "I got cancer and chemo and then COVID on top of that.
And the chemo stripped me of my immune system so I got the COVID pretty bad.
Jeff recalled being 'pretty close to dying' from COVID while undergoing chemo to treat
his cancer.
Opening up about his journey over the past two years, Bridges shared that he had to spend
five months in the hospital with an already-weakened immune system, severe pain, and, often, a
need for supplemental oxygen.
In the beginning, Jeff wasn’t sure he had the strength to fight for his life.
He had been betrayed by his body, and it all seemed like it was going to be too difficult
to overcome.
One blow after the next, Bridges felt like the odds were stacked against him, and he
didn’t stand a chance.
He also feared he wouldn't be able to walk his daughter Haley down the aisle.
He admitted, "I was pretty close to dying.
The doctors kept telling me, 'Jeff, you've got to fight.
You're not fighting.'
I was in surrender mode.
I was ready to go.
I was dancing with my mortality."
He felt like “this might be the end of the race” for him.
Jeff knew that death was inevitable for everyone, and at one point, he thought, “maybe this
was my time to go through that, and I didn’t know.”
Then he realized he didn’t have to go through all of this alone, and he had something to
fight for.
His loved ones were a bright light during a very dark time, and Jeff knew he wasn’t
ready to give up on them.
He shared, “With a great medical team, great trainers, and my family, everybody brought
me back.”
Bridges were incredibly ill for about two years, and during that time, everything felt
“very dreamlike.”
He spent months in the hospital, and despite the severe decline in his health, he did his
best to stay positive and see the best in the situation.
He even confessed that there were some good things that came out of being so sick.
He explained, “There were wonderful parts about being that sick that were kind of unexpected,
you know, feeling all that love coming towards me from my family and friends and from other
people all over the world.”
The actor received unwavering support from his wife of forty-five-years, Susan Geston,
their three children, Isabelle, Haley, and Jessica, and of course all of his fans.
Jeff thought, “Oh yeah, this is life, this is wonderful.”
His diagnosis put everything into perspective in his life, how important his family is,
how much he is loved, and the joy he received from being around his loved ones.
All the time he shared with them felt precious, because he didn’t know how much more time
he would have left to be with them.
Thankfully, at the beginning of 2021, Jeff shared the amazing
news that his tumor had “drastically shrunk,” and the treatment he was receiving was working.
Soon, he was back on his feet, and returned to filming for ‘The Old Man.’
The actor was “thrilled” to be back at work, knowing that he was able to get through
the worst part of his disease.
He shared, “I went back to work, and it was the most bizarre feeling … it all felt
very dreamlike.”
The seventy-three-year-old actor is now feeling great, and happy that he was able to go on
and promote the show that had been two years in the making.
It was almost as if everything had come around full circle.
He also came out of recovery as a changed man and felt like he had a renewed sense of
life and gratitude.
Jeff admitted, "Who would say, 'I'd love some cancer and give me a dose of COVID?
But my ability to receive all the love and give it was just heightened.
Everything was turned up in the most beautiful way."
His health scares reminded him how important love truly is, and he knows he's lucky to
be alive today.
Jeff and his wife, Susan's love, grew even stronger as Jeff fought for his life.
After almost fifty years together, Bridges couldn’t imagine going through everything
that they’d had to endure during their marriage without her.
He proudly called Susan, “the love of my life.”
The actor explained that there are so many things in life that are right under our noses
that we don’t appreciate.
He added, “But it turns out there are many positive sides in my life that came out of
that experience.”
After being so close to death’s door, Bridges was a changed man.
Jeff’s diagnosis brought to light the immense gratitude he had for his wife and kids.
He and Susan realized how lucky they were to have come through this dark time, more
united, and understood how precious life is.
Bridges shared, “I'm being conscious of stuff that's just right in fronts of me like
love and my family and all of the stuff that's available for me.
I'm just really loving this obvious thing that we live with all the time and take for
granted.”
With three daughters and three grandkids rounding out his family, Jeff is focused on staying
healthy and raising awareness about his battle as he remains in remission.
He is now living his life to the fullest, making sure to spend time with his loved ones
and doing things that bring him joy.
He said, “I'm feeling more confident to get back to doing the things I love.”
In fact, it was the things he loved that motivated him to continue fighting through the disease.
He had the goal of being able to walk his daughter, Haley, down the aisle and returning
to finish the series ‘The Old Man.’
He shared, “I wanted to walk her down the aisle, do that wedding dance with my girl.”
But Jeff knew he wasn’t going to be able to achieve those things overnight.
He explained, “I would have little goals all through my illness.”
The first step was to see how long he could stand up, and for a long time, he could stand
for more than forty-five seconds at a time.
He confessed, “That was about as much as I could take, walking down the hallways of
the hospital with your walker and your oxygen.”
Jeff worked with a trainer to build his strength back up, but that was no easy feat either.
But Jeff never gave up on himself.
He knew what he wanted to do, and he worked harder than ever before to regain his physical
strength.
He shared, “But as I started to get my health back, I said, ‘Oh yeah, I can do this.’”
All his hard work paid off.
Not only was he able to walk his daughter down the aisle, but he was also able to continue
his work as an actor.
His health struggles hadn’t changed his attitude about his work.
He said, “I think what I’ve found is when you go through something like that, you pull
out everything you’ve got.”
After fighting for his life for two years, Jeff is more grateful than ever for everything
that he has, but most importantly, he is thankful to have survived the disease he thought was
going to kill him.
But his biggest joy comes from spending time with his wife, their children, and grandchildren.
He appreciates them all even more after he understood that life can change in the blink
of an eye.
Bridges shared, "I love being alive, man.
And I got very close to losing it all.”
If there’s one thing we can learn from Jeff’s experience, it is that we don’t have control
over the things that happen to us, and sometimes life can deal with one bad card after another
one.
There’s no doubt that his loving family and support system gave him the strength he
needed to fight for his life, and never give up on himself.
We are so happy that Bridges is feeling better and in remission.
We wish him and his family only the best for their future, and we can’t wait to see more
of him on the big screen!