Jim Ross knows he’s getting better, but two broken toes are making sure the process takes longer than he wants. JR says his balance is still affected, his physical therapy is limited, and avoiding another fall remains one of his biggest priorities.
Speaking on the September 10 edition of Grilling JR, Ross reflected on his health after recently making it back to an Oklahoma Sooners game for the first time in years. He called the experience a “dream come true,” but getting out again also gave him a clearer idea of where he currently stands physically.
Ross believes he has made considerable progress overall. The biggest thing holding him back right now is the two broken toes on his left foot, which continue to affect his balance and force him to be extremely careful whenever he walks.
“I just realized, you know, I sit here at home and I tell myself that I’m a lot better, and I am a lot better. If my two toes in my left foot weren’t broken, my balance wouldn’t be adversely affected as it is right now. I still got to be careful when I walk and not fall. Falling is JR’s enemy. That may be a T-shirt.”
The problem goes beyond simply making it harder for Ross to get around. His broken toes are also limiting how much physical therapy he can do on his feet, leaving JR convinced that he would already be much further along in his recovery without them.
“My life is getting more structured under the new circumstances of my health. And if my fucking toes weren’t broken, I’d be way down the road. I can’t do as much physical therapy as far as walking or moving on my feet because of my broken toes.”
Ross is frustrated by how much the injury has slowed everything down, but he does believe the toes are healing. It’s happening more slowly than he would like, although there doesn’t seem to be much doubt in his mind about what happens once they finally heal.
“So, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. When they’re healed, and they’re healing slowly, I’ll be right back in the saddle. No doubt about it.”
That wasn’t the only health update Ross shared. Conrad Thompson noticed that JR looked noticeably thinner and asked how much weight he had lost compared to the heaviest point of his WWE days, leading Ross to reveal that the difference is now more than 50 pounds.
“Over 50. Over 50 pounds.”
Ross is still receiving regular medical attention at home while navigating everything else. Home health care nurses visit twice a week to check his vitals, including his blood sugar and blood pressure, while also continuing to treat a longtime wound on his left ankle.
“I have home health care nurses that come to my home twice a week, and they look me over and take my vitals, blood sugar, blood pressure. And I still have issues.”
One of those issues dates back to Ross’ battle with skin cancer. Despite undergoing 22 radiation treatments, the wound on his left ankle still hasn’t completely healed years later, although JR says there has at least been some improvement.
“The wound on my left ankle from skin cancer and 22 radiation treatments has not healed.”
Thompson was stunned that Ross was still dealing with the wound after so much time had passed. Ross said the nurses continue dressing it twice a week, and while he can see progress, he isn’t calling it healed yet.
“I know. You’re telling me. I think about that a lot. So they dress that twice a week. So that’s good. And it’s looking better, but it’s not healed.”
Blood sugar is another area Ross is taking seriously during his recovery. He admitted that he still gets cravings for sweets, particularly pie, cake and ice cream, but he knows giving in too often could create another health problem he simply doesn’t need.
“And I get pissed at myself sometimes because of my urges. So I’ve been really watching my blood sugar. And that’s, I’m going to continue to do that because that’s a dangerous thing to fuck with.”
His weight has also moved around considerably over the past couple of months. Ross said he has dropped as low as 185 or 186 pounds while also reaching around 208, but despite those fluctuations and everything else he is dealing with, he currently feels relatively good.
“I think I weighed 208, and I’ve been down as low as 185, 186 in the last couple months.”
Ross is now trying to control what he can, including how much he eats and when he eats it. He has been focusing on portion control and generally tries to finish eating before 6 PM, which he believes also helps stop those late-night cravings for cake and ice cream.
“My whole deal is portion control. I don’t eat a bunch of shit at 10:00 at night. You know, I try to eat everything I’m going to eat mainly before 6.”
Ross previously revealed that the broken toes came from a fall on the morning of his brain surgery, and he didn’t even know they were fractured until doctors X-rayed his foot at the hospital. He has also suffered another fall during his recovery, making his current concern about staying steady on his feet considerably more serious than simply dealing with two painful toes.
JR can feel himself getting better, but his left foot keeps putting a speed limit on that progress. The encouraging part is that Ross believes the toes are healing, and once they finally stop getting in his way, he fully intends to get “right back in the saddle.”
Are you hoping to see Jim Ross back behind the AEW commentary desk once his recovery allows it? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
