i was just watching jerry lewis in a 98 clip, he was in so much pain that you could see him blinking aand fidgeting, he made it through. why prince couldn't i don't know, i always thought of prince as a superman.

I do know that Prince looked healthy, happy, and full of life in 2011/2012 during the time Andy was with him (Im not really sure of the years.) The photos and the concert videos show P's zest for life, and there were some outstanding concert performances.

I think it was around 2015 he really started to look hollow.

Just my opinion.

There are some photos from 2015/2016 that I just have to look away from because it hurts too much. I dont want to remember him this way.

I dont know if I will ever be able to watch any P&M videos.

I noticed a huge difference from 2012 on. He was aging, of course, but 'slowly' as he looked so much younger than most people his age. I felt like in this last 3 or 4 years things were speeded up.

willowcb said:

I agree. Anyone who has struggled with the pain of achy joints, that keeps you up at night and makes it difficult to move during the day, understands. It's exhausting both physically and in spirit. The pain pills are needed for the pain, but create an entire new set of issues. I've seen two people in my life slowly die from overdose/liver issues due to years of taking these medications. They can be a double-edged sword. Dealing with and living with chronic pain is walking a tight-rope and falling off the edge happens to so many. It makes me sad to think how this vibrant, energetic genius had to be crushed down with chronic pain and all the struggles that go with it.

nelcp777 said:

I think Prince may have just gotten in over his head. He took the meds as prescribed and needed. Prince was in good health. He was a tiny dude. I think due to his size, his eating habits, his threshold for pain may be lower. Over time, the body slows. This man worked non-stop for decades. I mean worked exahustively. Bands had a hard time keeping up.

I think he pushed and pushed. It caught up with him, not in a bad way. Just how things work. His pain from his hips maybe increased. It could be a combination, his small frame, increased pain and meds level.

I do not think Kirk or Prince's family will talk and release intitimate details about Prince. Too much respect.

I am trying to process this like all of us. Prince did seem to be making mends to those in his past. We are trying to make sense of this. Everything is under a microscope. We are second guessing everything Prince did. Not in a bad way.

I do not believe those who were close will divulge anything. At times, it seems like a nightmare to me. I am amazed by Prince, his artistry, his philanthropy, etc. His passing was quick. It is hard to process. Literally, here one day and gone the next.

I am resolved that we will never know if there was any underlying issues in Prince's health. He was a mystery alive and his death continues in the same facade.

A chronic joint problem would indeed make for a grim enough scenario for any poor soul to have to cope with over time. I really hope that, if Prince was afflicted with joint pain, it was only a recent deterioration and had not been a long-term problem for him over many years.

Conditions affecting the joints (such as rheumatoid arthritis) can often be debilitating, and, even when professionally managed with steroids/anti-inflammatories, make for a severely challenging existence for the sufferer.

For the life of me I don’t understand how any stigma whatsoever can be attached to anyone using painkillers to manage/cope with such chronic pain issues. Sufferers deserve our love, help and understanding, not judgemental condemnation or the grimy tabloid sensationalism directed our man's way by some of the less salubrious quarters of the media.

I read a brief comment by Sheila recently, where she explained that Prince had ‘messed up’ both his hip and his knee, but that he kept performing live because he loved doing it.

I must confess that I do find it hard to reconcile my memories of Prince’s dynamic concerts that I enjoyed in 2014 with the image of a man crippled by such severe pain.

It’s so terribly sad for me to reflect on those shows now, with the realisation that it seems probable that Prince was having to endure great pain to deliver such spritely, physically demanding performances.

Admittedly, I seem to be out of step with many fans on the question of further details about Prince’s health. We currently have some very limited info portraying unresolved hip and knee pain issues, which already paints an arduous enough struggle for Prince to have faced for me to process.

I don’t feel as though more detailed disclosures about Prince’s pain issues are going to be likely to provide me with any consolation about Prince’s untimely, premature passing, or give me any degree of ‘closure’ (since that seems to be the ‘in vogue’ term these days).

I guess I view Prince as a very private man. I know we now live in an age of readily available shared data, but I’m still old-fashioned enough to believe that in some instances one can be privy to ‘too much information’.

Far more important than any personal feelings I may have on the matter is that it doesn’t seem like Prince himself wanted us fans to know about any of his private ill health issues (hip/knee/whatever), which he may have been battling. I suppose that is why I believe it would be commendable, if his wishes and privacy were respected by his nearest and dearest.

However, if more info is disclosed in the future, which I fear may very well be inevitable, I am hoping against hope that those here who seem convinced that there was an undisclosed underlying, incurable health issue are mistaken. I’ve lost loved ones to cancer, and I wouldn’t wish a tortuous, slow demise like that on anyone, least of all Prince.

I fear that Prince’s quality of life may already have been greatly compromised latterly by hip and knee pain. His sudden demise alone in an elevator (reportedly due to a Fentanyl OD) is a more than bleak enough ending to his time on earth to have to stomach.

The thought of him also having to endure a gradual, painful decline over his last years due to some horrible, terminal illness is all too awful for me to comprehend.

If that’s what our beloved musical hero has been suffering over the past several years, personally I would prefer his closest loved ones to honour his privacy and mercifully leave me in the dark. Of course I fully appreciate and respect that many here feel very differently though.

GrayDorian said:

rogifan said:

206Michelle said:

I agree with you that he looked fine in 2011. There is this video on YouTube of him performing "The Love We Make" at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2011. The guitar solo is AMAZING...He was absolutely making love to his guitar!!! I've watched the video dozens of times. He has something on one of his fingers; not sure if it's a bandage or a ring. But otherwise, he looks healthy, vibrant, young for his age, and energetic.

Ooh I have that video. Saved it down from YT before it was removed. Yum. 😋

It is still there: https://www.youtube.com/w...RRSdRhfRA.

tmo1965 said:

206Michelle said:

Do you have a source regarding this service for P at the Kingdom Hall?

http://www.startribune.co...379592941/

.

http://www.etonline.com/n...minnesota/

.

https://www.youtube.com/w...aSp3jqWnIY

Thanks. I heard about this. I don't know why, but I misunderstood your post before this and I thought they held a service for him before he died because he wasn't feeling well.

Krystalkisses said:

balmliove said:

Krystalkisses said:

I read online that he did attend Denise's memorial in California but left early because people were bugging him for autographs or something like that.

I don't think he attended her funeral..but he may have attended a smaller service Apollonia wrote an article: http://www.myajc.com/news...nis/nqfrH/ [Edited 8/11/16 22:48pm]

Yes, this is what I remember. He attended the private memorial service, rather than the church funeral.

To celebrate Denise's life, to celebrate our reunion, to celebrate our lives and the life of Prince, we all head out to a private gathering.

Great time indeed being together.

Watching Susan and Jill show Prince photos of their beautiful and talented brood was so cool.

When he started going with the little fro. I remember thinking 'good for him. He's probably taking a break from being ON all the time" The cloths, hair, make up ..etc. In retrospect I look back now and see something of theme with have huge glasses on alot. The 3rd eye glasses and the Hit & Run almost ski mask size glasses.

I also struck me when he started putting his really large symbol on his mic stands for shows. They weren't eloborate or fit any kind of stage decor. These things feel like he was hiding/ protecting himself. Especially with the eyes and medication. I read all ten pages of this thread. It kind of helped.