Following a bicycle accident in 1990 and heart-valve surgery in 1994, in 1996 he began showing signs of a form of Parkinson's disease, and his hearing was quickly deteriorating.
Nakon biciklističke nesreće 1990. i operacije srčanog zaliska 1994., 1996. je počeo pokazivati znakove Parkinsonove bolesti, a sluh mu se rapidno pogoršavao.