The reluctant decision by Morten Harket, lead singer in the legendary Norwegian band a-ha, to go public with his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis last month has been widely praised in his homeland. It may even boost more studies by researchers, who are searching high and low for a cure to the neurological disorder.
“It’s very important to be open about this, and show others who have it (Parkinson’s) that life can be still be good,” long-time radio- and TV host Ivar Dyrhaug told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK), where he worked for years. Dyrhaug, now 76, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017 but didn’t go public with it until 2022. Now he thinks openness is the best way to give others more understanding of the disease.
“You can still have many good days with this disease,” Dyrhaug told NRK. Norwegian violinist Arve Tellefsen agrees. He’s still performing at an age of 88, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s 15 years ago and undergoing treatment for throat cancer three years ago. Tellefsen told newspaper Hallingdølen that he’s had some problems controlling his right hand. That didn’t stop him, though, from performing at a festival in the mountain town of Nesbyen, right after Harket went public with his diagnosis.
Harket, now age 65, told a-ha‘s biographer Jan Omdahl that he “had no problem accepting the diagnosis” but initially kept it private because of “the unpredictable consequences” of going public with it. “Part of me wanted to reveal it,” he told Omdahl when releasing the news on a-ha’s official website in early June (external link), but it was his “need for peace and quiet to work that has been stopping me. I’m trying the best I can to prevent my entire system from going into decline.” He described it as a “difficult balancing act between taking the medication and managing its side-effects.”
The disease itself affects areas of the brain that control movement, for example. Dyrhaug noticed the first symptoms when he had trouble doing dance steps. Harket candidly told Omdahl that he currently doesn’t feel like singing, “and for me, that’s a sign,” making him aware he may not be able “to achieve full technical control” of his voice.
Like many others with a Parkinson’s diagnosis, Harket has undergone surgery that implanted electrodes deep inside both the left- and right sides of his brain that are connected to a pacemaker-like device placed in his chest. Called “deep brain stimulation” or DBS, it helped immediately and many of his symptoms almost vanished, except those affecting his voice. That, he told Omdahl, is part of the “grounds for uncertainty about my creative future.” He urged fans, meanwhile, to know that he’s being well take care of, by professionals.
Edgard Valmanis, leader of the federation that helps Parkinson’s patients in Norway, has lived with Parkinson’s himself for many years, has undergone the same surgery as Harket and is glad Harket went public about it. He’s hoping most of all for more research into the disease.
“It’s seen by many as an ‘old man’s disease,’ but we have members in their 30s,” Valmanis told NRK. There’s still no cure for it, but various treatments are available that relieve symptoms. Many other well-known people have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, including musicians Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond and Ozzy Osbourne, who recently performed in Birmingham with his fellow band members from Black Sabbath.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund