John Driskell Hopkins, one of the founding members of the Zac Brown Band, is continuing to speak out about his battle with ALS.
In December 2021, doctors diagnosed Hopkins with the disease after months of tests.
“We were crying three times a day,” Hopkins said during an appearance on “CBS Mornings.”
Hopkins fought back tears as he explained that he does not want to “burden” his family with the disease, especially his wife.
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John Driskell Hopkins, one of the founding members of the Zac Brown Band, continues to speak out about his battle with ALS.
(Angela Weiss/AFP)
The Mayo Clinic describes ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, as a “progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control.”
The cause is unknown and symptoms vary, but muscle weakness that worsens over time is common in many cases. There is no cure for the disease.
The father of three created a charity with his wife called Hop On a Cure to raise money for ALS research. Hop On a Cure has already raised $100,000.
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“I’m not a scientist, I’m not going to be the one with the test tubes and the research. I’m someone who has a platform that can explain, ‘I can’t play guitar like I used to’ … I might not be able to sing one day,” Hopkins explained. “If I’m able to spread the word that way … that’s my responsibility.”
Hopkins previously told Fox News Digital he “noticed some balance issues and some stiffness in my hands,” which led to the ALS diagnosis by “some of the country’s top neurologists.”
“Because my symptoms have been slow progressing from the start, we believe they will continue to be slow progressing going forward. God willing, I plan to be rocking with these amazing people for many years to come,”.
In 2019, 51-year-old singer John Driskell Hopkins became frustrated with the movements in his right hand, noticing he couldn’t play the guitar the way he used to.
(Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Stagecoach)
The “Whatever It Is” singer is practicing voice-making, recording words and sentences to be used for communicating in the future in the event he can no longer speak due to ALS.
“As a father, I don’t know what [my daughters] need yet and … [I] want to be there … want to [give] them wisdom that I think they can probably use later,” he explained on the morning talk show.
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Hopkins added that he’s working on a few songs dedicated to his wife and daughters while trying to live life to the fullest.
The Zac Brown Band also continues to tour, performing shows like Sept. 22’s at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. All proceeds from the sold-out show were donated to Hop On A Cure.
Hopkins and the Zac Brown Band will finish out the last couple of months of their tour with the final show in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 19.
The Zac Brown Band performed Sept. 22 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
(Frederick Breedon/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
The eight-member band recently canceled a concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, just hours before showtime after some members of the group weren’t allowed across the Canadian border.
“We’re sorry to announce that we won’t be able to perform in Vancouver tonight,” the band wrote on social media earlier this month. “Our Canadian fans are incredible, and we would love nothing more than to share an evening of music together. Some of our crew members had charges on their records from over a decade ago that have since been removed.”
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The group called itself a “family” and a “tribe,” saying they “stick together and support each other and we never leave anyone behind.”
Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report
