General Hospital alum Rick Springfield shockingly reveals brain damage diagnosis

Rick Springfield hasn’t been on General Hospital since 2013, but he’s been an extremely busy musician outside the soap. He recently shared his songwriting approach, in and around all of the concerts he puts on. His current string of concerts, the I Want My '80s Tour, is focused on the U.S. and has paired him up with several notable musicians. But in order to do that he needs to remain healthy. Springfield explained that a recent medical issue which could have upended his career.

Terrifying news for General Hospital star

Rick Springfield spoke to People and revealed a major issue that he didn’t know he had. The 75-year-old performer told the outlet about an accident he had during a Las Vegas concert in 2000.

"I fell 25 feet, hit my head, and then wood came down and hit my head, and then my head hit the stage again," Springfield said. "I thought I had just broken my wrist, but on the scan, I found out I have some brain damage from the fall, so I'm working on trying to repair that."

Recently, he had an MRI that scanned his whole body. That's how he learned of the brain damage. He noted that he’s the type of person who wants to know when something is wrong with them, and explained that his father never wanted to know, saying, "My dad died from not wanting to know. He thought he had stomach cancer for years and never got it checked out. When he finally collapsed one day at home, they found out it was an ulcer that burst, and he died from the loss of blood." Springfield further acknowledged that the problem could have been resolved if his dad had seen a doctor sooner.

The former GH star, who has had parts on shows like Supernatural, took that as a message.

"If you want to live long, you have to be prepared for some bad news now and then. I could find out I have terminal cancer tomorrow and be dead in a year, but I can only do all I can do," Springfield said.

He feels like a young man and is often shocked when he realizes that people are dying from old age. "Wow, I’m the same age as old people!" is a phrase that sometimes runs through his head when he hears about that.

Springfield exercises regularly and follows a pescatarian diet, for the most part, which helps keep him in great shape. He also quit drinking large amounts of alcohol, noting, "I’ll have a couple of sips of vodka or something when I’m onstage, but I don’t drink any other time."

The star doesn’t worry about dying although he stated he’s been at death’s door a few times, remarking that, "You can only put on the party dress, but what happens at the party is up to the gods."

You can watch new episodes of General Hospital on ABC and Hulu.