Johnny Lee to Undergo Brain Surgery in August
Country singer Johnny Lee will undergo two brain surgeries in August. The artist says the procedures will help his ability to walk, which has been hindered by his Parkinson's disease.
According to a Facebook post from Lee, his first surgery will take place on Aug. 7, followed by a second procedure on Aug. 21. During the second surgery, doctors will put a battery in Lee's brain.
"I’m doing this all because I'm having problems walking," Lee explains, assuring fans that he "will be fine" after the surgeries, but is hoping they'll pray for him as he prepares to undergo the procedures and recovers from them.
"God gave me the talent and I plan on using it until the day I die," Lee adds.
Lee was diagnosed with Parkinson's about a year ago, according to 97.3 The Dawg in Lafayette, La. A progressive nervous system disorder, the disease affects a person's movement: Often, those with Parkinson's experience body tremors, but the disease can also result in stiffness or a slowing of motion.
"I don't like it one bit but I know that I will not let it get me down ... I will deal with this and I refuse to let this get the best of me," Lee wrote on Facebook in July of 2018. "It may take me a minute extra to get going but I can handle this ... I've got a lot of music left in me and I don't believe God brought me this far to abandon me now."
Lee, now 73, is a Texas native. He played with Mickey Gilley in the 1970s, including at the Pasadena, Texas, honky-tonk Gilley's, at which the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy takes place. The success of the film helped launch Lee's career: He both appears in the movie and contributed two songs, "Cherokee Fiddle" and "Lookin' for Love," to its soundtrack. The latter became a No. 1 hit.
Lee's other best-known songs include "One in a Million," "Bet Your Heart on Me" and "You Could've Heard a Heart Break," all No. 1 songs. "The Yellow Rose," a collaboration with Lane Brody, was also a No. 1 hit, and was the theme song for the NBC TV series The Yellow Rose.
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