Reverend Jesse Jackson was moved out of an intensive care unit Monday (November 17) after a weeklong hospitalization for treatment for a rare neurological condition, a spokesperson has confirmed.
The 84-year-old civil rights leader and activist – who has been battling Parkinson’s Diseases for most of the last decade – was reportedly on life support at one point during his stay at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
While TMZ later confirmed those reports were untrue, what is true – according to a spokesperson for Jackson – is he will remain hospitalized for continuing care for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) despite leaving the ICU.
PSP is a condition that impacts just 1-in-10,000 Americans.
“We believe in the power of prayer, and we are grateful for the overwhelming outreach and prayers of the faithful,” Jackson’s son Yusef Jackson said in a statement before sharing, “Our father is alert and continues to share his vision for churches and pastors to come together and reduce malnutrition during this period. He is enlisting 2,000 churches and pastors to distribute 2,000 baskets of food to feed four million families this season.”
According to Dr. Bezhad Elahi, a celebrated University of Chicago neurologist, PSP is a neurological condition that has no known cure and affects balance, walking, and overall movement.
Jackson was reportedly diagnosed with the disease earlier this year after initially being misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013.
Rev. Al Sharpton, a friend of Jesse’s for more than 50 years, posted on social media Monday that he visited him in the hospital and that he remains in “good spirits.”
I thought He became a spirit like ghost or something… oh whatever.
I promise I didnt know Jesse was still alive. Wow. Good for him.