Jeff Bridges’ fitness trail was nothing short of a challenge.
The 73-year-old – who first went public with his cancer diagnosis in October 2020, just months before developing COVID-19 – reflects on his path to recovery.
“A big part of getting better was setting very small goals. At first they were like, ‘How long can you last? For a while my record was 45 seconds before I collapsed,” he said. AARP in a new interview, published on May 23. “And then they were like, ‘Oh look, you stand up for a minute! That’s so cool, now you can walk 5 feet?'”
THE Big Lebowski The actor – whose tumor shrunk “to the size of a marble” – went on to note that having his immune system stripped down due to cancer treatment made fighting COVID “really, really difficult”.
“To me,” Jeff told the outlet, “cancer was nothing compared to COVID.”
“I remember the doctor saying to me, ‘Jeff, you have to fight. You don’t fight,'” he recalled. “But I didn’t understand anymore. I just didn’t know how to do this. I was in surrender mode. I was like, ‘Everyone dies, and I’m the one dying.’ And I would hear myself say, ‘Oh, well, here we go, for the next adventure.