News | Entertainment
22 Jan 2026 7:50
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Donny Osmond feared he'd never walk again after contracting an infection following spinal surgery

    The 63-year-old singer was horrified to lose sensation in his limbs during a gig in Las Vegas in November 2019 and was taken to hospital, where it was discovered his spine had shifted, in part due to previous dancing injuries, including one sustained on 'Dancing With the Stars' in 2009, and it marked the beginning of a 12-month health battle for the former child star


    Donny recalled: “I couldn’t feel my arms, then suddenly my legs too. I didn’t tell anyone what was happening to me......I just kept dancing and finished the show.”

    Subsequent surgery on his back and neck were successful, leading Donny to believe he was back on the road to recovery, but he soon suffered a setback once he was back home in Utah.

    He recalled: "I thought everything was going to be fine, but it couldn’t have been worse. I got a secondary infection which meant I wasn’t able to move.”

    Asked if he feared he'd never walk again during his months of rehab, he told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Oh sure, absolutely. It absolutely crossed my mind. But I just didn’t take no for an answer.”

    The 'Puppy Love' singer - who has five sons with wife Debbie - credited the team of "great professionals" around him, as well as his Mormon faith, for helping him to ultimately make a full recovery.

    He said: "It was my faith, a lot of hard work and positive thinking."

    And Donny was thankful to have his beloved wife by his side.

    He said: “She knows exactly the sort of determination that I have and she knew I would be fine."

    The 'Who' singer now feels stronger than ever.

    He said: “Last night’s show was wild....the amount of dancing and singing and everything.

    “I started from below ground zero but it feels like coming back from the dead. I’m pain free now, maybe even stronger than I was before.”

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     22 Jan: Willie Geist's daughter thriving in college has turned her family's anxiety into calm
     22 Jan: Piers Morgan has been hospitalised after he broke his hip
     22 Jan: Jane Fonda hopes to reflect on a good life when she is on her deathbed
     22 Jan: Marty Supreme unexpectedly rekindled Gwyneth Paltrow's love for acting
     21 Jan: Kourtney Kardashian is three years sober
     21 Jan: Wayne Rooney has claimed he's "deaf in my left ear"
     21 Jan: Ansel Elgort has quietly become a father
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Former All Blacks first-five Lima Sopoaga suggests Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph's people skills make him the best option to take over the national team job from Scott Robertson More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The construction sector is building solid momentum, as job ads for the industry rise More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Willie Geist's daughter thriving in college has turned her family's anxiety into calm 7:40

    International:
    Donald Trump tells Davos summit he wants 'immediate' Greenland deal, but 'won't use force' to take island 7:37

    Business:
    The construction sector is building solid momentum, as job ads for the industry rise 7:37

    Living & Travel:
    Luck is on the side of an Otago Powerball player - after a 5.3 million dollar win last night 7:27

    Accident and Emergency:
    Two people are unaccounted for and another is badly injured after a landslide at a house in Papamoa 7:17

    Entertainment:
    Piers Morgan has been hospitalised after he broke his hip 7:10

    Rugby:
    Former All Blacks first-five Lima Sopoaga suggests Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph's people skills make him the best option to take over the national team job from Scott Robertson 7:07

    International:
    Hand stencils discovered in an Indonesian cave are oldest-known rock art 7:07

    Entertainment:
    Jane Fonda hopes to reflect on a good life when she is on her deathbed 6:40

    Business:
    Fonterra's taking its growing organic business south for the first time 6:27


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd