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Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges said while his cancer is in remission, he caught COVD-19 during treatment, which “kicked my a** pretty good,” he said in a handwritten note posted on his website.
The 71-year-old revealed his cancer diagnosis in October 2020. “I have been diagnosed with Lymphoma,” Bridges said on Twitter after quoting his iconic “The Big Lebowski” character, The Dude. “Although it is a serious disease, I feel fortunate that I have a great team of doctors and the prognosis is good. I’m starting treatment and will keep you posted on my recovery.”
On his website Monday, Bridges shared a post he wrote in March, but decided not to share until he got a handle on his COVID-19.
The post explained in January, someone in the facility where Bridges received chemotherapy was exposed to COVID-19, and he and his wife tested positive. The good news at the time was that his once 9×12 inch tumor had shrunk to 2×2 inches.
But while Bridges’ wife spent five days in the hospital battling COVID-19, he spent five weeks.
“The reason I’m there so long was my immune system is shot from the chemo,” he wrote. “My dance with Covid makes my cancer look like a piece of cake.” He said while he had a moment of tremendous pain and was “getting close to the Pearly Gates,” he still felt “happy and joyous” most of the time.
He said his “brush with mortality” gave him a gift: “Life is brief and beautiful. Love is all around us, & available @ all times.”
In another update dated September 13, Bridges wrote that his tumor was now the size of a marble. “My COVID is in the rearview mirror,” he wrote. “COVID kicked my a** pretty good, but I’m double vaccinated & feeling much better now. I heard that the vaccine can help folks with Long Haulers. Maybe that’s the cause of my quick improvement.” So-called “long haulers” are patients who have recovered from COVID-19 infection but still experience symptoms and difficulties.
Bridges also said he was working with a therapist, with a goal of being able to walk around without oxygen assistance. He set this goal for a reason: to walk his daughter, Hayley, down the aisle at her wedding.
“Thanks to [my therapist] Zach and my incredible medical team, I was able to, not only walk Hay down the aisle, but to do a father bride dance with her, without oxygen,” he said.
