Rakhi P Nair
The 78-year- old veteran director David Lynch, known for his movies ‘Eraserhead’, ‘ Mulholland Drive’, and his TV series ‘Twin Peaks’ is reported to be suffering from Emphysema.The director known for his surrealist and dream-like films, says his diagnoses would prevent him from working on sets. So it came as a shock for fans all around the world. To see that the veteran director David Lynch was about to retire. Amidst the new COVID scare, Lynch said in an interview for Sight and Sound even a cold could prove fatal for him.
What is emphysema ? And its prevention
Emphysema is a lung disease resulting from an air filled enlargement of bodily tissues. Emphysema commonly occurs as the permanent enlargement of air spaces or alveoli. These spaces are a cause of the breakdown of walls of the alveoli. Usually seen in an older population. One of the main reasons of Emphysema is smoking or long-term exposure to certain industrial pollutants. The best way to prevent Emphysema is to not smoke ,avoid external pollutants and maintain a healthy diet.
Smoking and its price
It came as a relief to fans with Lynch clarifying on the social media platform X that he has no plans to retire. Lynch attributes this illness to his prolonged habit of smoking. He explains in his post, “I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco”, he adds, “but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me in emphysema”. But apart from Emphysema the filmmaker is in excellent shape.
No plans to retire, and an array of support
Lynch has confirmed he would be virtually directing his new projects and would never retire. His emphysema prevents him from staying outdoors too much, in his interview for Sight and Sound magazine he says, “I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long, and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before I’m out of oxygen”.
His X post has met with great support from his fans. It has over 119k likes and 20k reposts. Cinephiles all over the world wished him well and chimed in with their support for the great director.