Michael Jackson’s Health Dire, Singer Requires New Lungs

The drama surrounding Michael Jackson for the past several years has centered on a series of transgressions, alleged transgressions, court cases and a whole bushel basket full of odd behavior. The repeated plastic surgeries aside, many argue that a man who was once a very talented and likable performer – both as a dancer and singer – has fallen so far from grace that there is no hope for a career resurrection. Among the rumors of Jackson getting his career back on track was talk of a Jackson 5 reunion in Las Vegas that never materialized and a collaborative effort with famous and super-popular artist 50 Cent that also fell by the weigh-side.

Also problematic for Jackson are a series of financial missteps that have left him struggling to pay the bills, a state of affairs that the sales of Thriller alone should have made impossible. Perhaps worst of all, however, is the fact the Jackson now faces severe health problems that may destroy any hope of a career comeback and could even threaten the pop star’s very life.

Ian Halperin, Jackson’s biographer, has recently claimed that Jackson can barely speak and has lost 95% of the vision in his left eye. According to Halperin, "He has had Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency for years but it’s gotten worse. He needs a lung transplant but may be too weak to go through with it. He also has emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, which his doctors have had a lot of trouble stopping. It’s the bleeding that’s the most problematic part. It could kill him."