Jeff Bridges, 72, worked with a trainer to walk daughter Hayley, 37, down the aisle

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‘I could only stand for 45 seconds’: Jeff Bridges, 72, reveals he worked with a trainer to walk daughter Hayley, 37, down the aisle after dual battle with cancer and COVID-19

  • The Oscar winner was pictured proudly walking his daughter to the altar at her August 2021 wedding – however he’s now revealed the fight it took to get there
  • In the lead up to the wedding, Bridges battled COVID-19, which he admitted left him ‘at death’s door’, coming shortly after his 2020 cancer diagnosis 
  • Before Hayley’s ceremony, the actor said he could only stand for ’45 seconds’, however he practiced walking in the corridors of the hospital
  • He worked with a trainer every day in order to get fit and healthy enough to walk Hayley down the aisle  

Jeff Bridges has revealed he worked with a trainer in order to walk his daughter Hayley down the aisle following his recent health struggles.    

The 72-year-old was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system in 2020 and was also hit hard by COVID-19 which he previously admitted left him at ‘death’s door’.

However after only being able to stand for ’45 seconds’ the actor sought out professional help before his youngest daughter tied the knot in California’s Santa Ynez Valley in August 2021.

Father of the bride: The 72-year-old was every inch the proud father as he accompanied daughter Hayley down the aisle at her 2021 wedding in California's Santa Ynez Valley

Father of the bride: The 72-year-old was every inch the proud father as he accompanied daughter Hayley down the aisle at her 2021 wedding in California’s Santa Ynez Valley 

Images from the wedding, which were published by Brides magazine in July of this year, show the proud father accompanying Hayley to the altar in front of a crowd of grinning guests. 

But while Bridges had a wide smile on his face the entire time, even performing a toast at the reception after the ceremony, he has now revealed that a lot of sweat went into making that moment happen.  

Speaking to the Independent he said that he practiced taking walks down his hospital corridor while still attached to oxygen. 

‘The first goal was how long can I stand up, and my record was 45 seconds, that’s how long I could stand up. And then it was, how many steps can I take?’.

He worked with a trainer everyday and eventually his walks got longer revealing: ‘One day I said, “Maybe I can do it, you know”. 

Daddy daughter: However after only being able to stand for '45 seconds' the actor sought out professional help before his youngest daughter tied the knot in California's Santa Ynez Valley in August 2021 (pictured together in 2017)

Daddy daughter: However after only being able to stand for ’45 seconds’ the actor sought out professional help before his youngest daughter tied the knot in California’s Santa Ynez Valley in August 2021 (pictured together in 2017) 

‘And it turns out I not only got to walk her down the aisle, but I got to do the wedding dance’.

Jeff has been happily married to his wife, film producer Susan Geston, since 1977, and they have two older daughters, Isabelle and Jessica. 

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Elsewhere in the interview he recalled how COVID-19 ‘kicked his a**’ when he contraction it in January 2021 and spent five weeks in intensive care. 

Bride and groom: Hayley, who works as an interior designer, pictured with her now-husband wealth advisor Justin Shane

Bride and groom: Hayley, who works as an interior designer, pictured with her now-husband wealth advisor Justin Shane

With his immune system at an all time low following cancer treatment he revealed the secondary illness made ‘cancer look like nothing’. 

It comes after the Oscar nominated actor  said that everything in life became ‘hyper-precious’ to him amid his illness.

With him believing his two-year ‘health adventure’ has actually helped him to look at life through a new lens.

He told Sky News: ‘Not all bad – [there were] wonderful parts about being that sick that were kind of unexpected, you know, feeling all that love coming towards me from my family and friends and from other people all over the world’.  

‘That was [an] unexpected, wonderful feeling, and then also the love that that kind of triggered for me.

‘I said, “Oh yeah, this is life, this is wonderful”, and everything became kind of hyper-precious during that time.’

WHAT IS LYMPHOMA?

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph nodes, which is the body’s disease-fighting network.

That network consists of the spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes and thymus gland. 

There are various types of lymphoma, but two main ones: non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s.

Both have much better prognoses than many types of cancer. 

WHAT IS HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA?

Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the white blood cells. It is named after Thomas Hodgkin, an English doctor who first identified the disease in 1832.  

It affects around 1,950 people each year in the UK, and 8,500 a year in the US.

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Hodgkin’s lymphoma is most common between the ages of 20 and 24, and 75 and 79. 

Five-year survival rates:

The survival rates are much more favorable than most other cancers. 

  • Stage 1: 90%
  • Stage 2: 90%
  • Stage 3: 80%
  • Stage 4: 65% 

Symptoms include: 

  • a painless swelling in the armpits, neck and groin 
  • heavy night sweating
  • extreme weight loss 
  • itching
  • shortness of breath 
  • coughing 

Risk factors: 

  • lowered immunity
  • a family history of the condition
  • smokers 
  • those who are overweight

Treatment: 

  • chemotherapy
  • radiotherapy
  • steroids 
  • stem cell or bone marrow transplants

WHAT IS NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA?

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can occur anywhere in the body but is usually first noticed in the lymph nodes around sufferers’ necks.

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma affects around 13,700 new people every year in the UK. In the US, more than 74,600 people are diagnosed annually.

It is more common in males than females, and it is commonly diagnosed either in a patient’s early 20s or after the age of 55. 

Five-year survival rates:

Survival can vary widely with NHL. 

The general survival rate for five years is 70 percent, and the chance of living 10 years is approximately 60 percent. 

Symptoms include:

  • Painless swellings in the neck, armpit or groin
  • Heavy night sweating
  • Unexplained weight loss of more than one-tenth of a person’s body
  • Itching

Risk factors:

  • over 75
  • have a weak immune system
  • suffer from celiac disease
  • have a family history of the condition 
  • have had other types of cancer

Treatment:

It depends on the number and locations of the body affected by Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Therapy typically includes chemotherapy.

 

  

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