Brett Favre opens up on harrowing battle with Parkinson's disease

Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre opened up about his battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The Super Bowl champion revealed last year he was diagnosed with the illness while he testified on Capitol Hill about welfare reform.

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Green Bay Packers quarterback (4) Brett Favre warms up before playing against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. (Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports)

He appeared on the recent episode of “The Sage Steele Show” and spoke more about his symptoms and his mental anguish as he goes through his day-to-day.

“What symptoms sort of arised here lately is I’m having a hard time swallowing,” he told Sage Steele. “There’s times where I think I’m choking. It’s sort of scary because they can’t fix that. I try not to think about it. I try to just focus on getting after the day. 

“But there are often times during the day, maybe at night, when I decompress and I think I’m progressing a little bit because the progression, as I understand it, my doctor said, ‘Think about it this way. You see someone you haven’t seen in 20 years. They look like they haven’t aged a bit. You tell them, “Oh you look great.” Then you see someone you haven’t seen in three years and you don’t recognize them. The disease is that way. There’s no way to predict who is going to progress faster than others. We all age differently.’”

Favre said he thinks about how well he’s progressing, if he is at all.

Green Bay Packers quarterback (4) Brett Favre is interviewed after defeating the Detroit Lions. (Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports )

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“I constantly think about it even though I know I shouldn’t. Am I gonna be the one that ages quicker? Is the disease going to eventually dominate me where I think right now I’m dominating the disease. I wake up every day and think, ‘Did I progress 2% or am I staying the same? Am I looking into this progression more than I should?’ All those thoughts go through my mind,” he said.

Favre said on Capitol Hill he was diagnosed with the illness in January 2024.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement, leading to tremors, stiffness, slow gait, balance issues and other symptoms. 

Non-motor symptoms can include depression, anxiety, hallucinations, apathy, sleep disorders, loss of smell, digestive issues and orthostatic hypotension (a sudden drop in blood pressure when standing up), according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (4) calls the snap count from behind center during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.  (Leon Halip/USA TODAY Sports)

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Nearly one million people are living with the disease in the U.S., and a projected 1.2 million will have received diagnoses by 2030.

Fox News’ Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.

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