Terry Crews’ wife, Rebecca King Crews, revealed her Parkinson’s disease diagnosis on Monday’s “Today” show.
The 60-year-old was diagnosed in 2015 but decided to “come forward now” after having recently undergone surgery “to control symptoms on one side of her body”.
In a joint interview with her husband, she exclaimed, “I’m seeing improvement…I can now write my name and dates. It’s probably the first time in three years that I can write with my right hand.”
The singer said he has been “still recovering” for three months, during which time he has seen improvement and a second surgery on the other side of his body is scheduled for September.
Rebecca told viewers that her first symptoms were a “mild numbness” in her left leg and an inability to swing her arms when she walked.
Subsequent arm tremors were dismissed by doctors as anxiety symptoms.
“It’s not uncommon for us women to say that everything is stressful,” she explained. “I asked for a referral, and they gave me one. And it took three years to get a diagnosis.”
Rebecca decided to share her story even though she previously didn’t want to be “pityed.” The reason for this is to spread awareness about this surgery and “want to believe that a cure can be found.”
Terry, who married Rebecca in July 1989, became emotional during a roundtable discussion on Monday as he praised the “superhero” as the “rock” of the family.
Notably, the couple has five children: Naomi, Azriel, Terra, Winfrey, and Isaiah.
“It was very, very difficult to watch her go through what she went through over the last 10 to 12 years,” the actor said, also touching on Rebecca’s 2020 battle with breast cancer. “I’m shaking, I can’t sleep, I’m losing my sense of balance.
“But when I see her writing her name for the first time in three years, I’ll say it,” the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” alum continued. “I don’t know what to say, I’m suffocating just thinking about it.”
The pair opened up to People magazine on Monday about Rebecca’s battle with Parkinson’s disease.
“I’m doing 90 percent of what I want to do,” Rebecca told the magazine. “Terry means the world to me, and I am grateful that God had the means to take care of me and allow me to go to the doctor and get the treatment I needed.”
Terry added that while there are “some days when there’s nothing I can do” other than “hold her as she cries,” “her mission is to make sure she gets the best care possible.”
“Where she’s weak, I’m strong,” the “America’s Got Talent” host declared.
