Kathleen Turner’s frail appearance leads to health problems

Turner was spotted on a rare public outing in Manhattan on Tuesday.

The 70-year-old wore a casual fit and was dressed in a black shirt, black trousers, a gray sweater and black sneakers. She used a cane as she got out of a car and entered an office building.

She was later seen leaving the building in a wheelchair.

The sighting came after Turner had to abruptly leave the stage during a performance of A little night music after she reportedly fell ill.

Turner has struggled with health problems for decades. During the height of her career in the early 1990s, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that affects the joints and organs.

In 1993, during the filming of the dark comedy Serial motherher feet became so swollen that they no longer fit in her shoes. It was then that she realized something was seriously wrong.

She recalled, “I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t hold a glass. The only way I could get up and down the stairs was on my butt and pushing myself.

“The pain is very bad because there is no way you can sit, lie down or stand that will allow you to escape it. People don’t understand it because it is not life threatening. It won’t kill me, but it will kill your life.”

In the wake of her diagnosis, she scaled back her career and took on supporting roles instead of leading shows. Yet she continued to work.

Turned admitted: “Yes, but I wouldn’t accept it. I am a very stubborn woman. I came back to full strength, as full as I would ever be again. They told me I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. My life. That was almost thirty years ago. And when I look at what I’ve done in thirty years, I think, ‘Well, go to hell!'”

As the years passed, Turner began drinking heavier and more frequently to combat the pain of her disease.

Although she never drank on the job, she admitted: ‘It was incredibly stupid.

“I had something in my mind where I thought, ‘I don’t take painkillers, they are addictive and dangerous.’ But it was okay to have that second or third vodka.”

After years of going like this, she finally realized she needed help.

Turner, then 68, recalled, “I thought, ‘I’m wasting my whole day with my daughter, with my husband, because I would shut myself off and drink.'”

She entered rehab in 2002, where she met others struggling with substance abuse.

Turner said, “I couldn’t see that in myself at all. I thought, ‘Okay, it’s not me. I’m not an alcoholic, but I’m an abuser. So I stopped drinking for a few years.’

“I can’t imagine ever drinking like that again. But then I wouldn’t be in so much pain.”

Although her rheumatoid arthritis was in remission as of 2023, she still suffered occasional flare-ups.