Jerry has pulmonary fibrosis (read below)

September 22, 2008

2004

has been plagued in recent years by several ailments. Besides

pulmonary fibrosis, which is an increase of fibrous tissue in the

lungs, he has had spinal meningitis, chronic back pain and diabetes.

NEW YORK - There's a lot less of Jerry these days. The comedian

has lost 58 pounds, and is hoping to shed 22 more after weighing as

much as 260 pounds while he was taking steroids for pulmonary

fibrosis.

" It's diet and rehab. I'm in the pool every day and I'm on a

treadmill and the bike, " told AP Radio in Washington.

In September, appeared bloated and puffy during the 38th annual

Jerry Labor Day Telethon, which raised a record $60.5 million

for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

" I feel like I imposed on the American people with that illness, and

that fat, and that breathing, but I was there for the right reason, "

he said.

He checked in Oct. 6 at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las

Vegas for a managed withdrawal from prednisone, a steroid he was

taking for the chronic lung ailment. He was discharged Jan. 16.

turns 78 on March 16th, but said he never thought he'd live to

see 76 because of the chronic back pain from the many falls he took

as part of his high-energy comic routine dating back to the 1940s. He

said that since having a " pain pacemaker " surgically implanted in

April 2002 to block pain signals to his brain, he no longer suffers.