Zac Brown Band star John Driskell Hopkins diagnosed with ALS
John Driskell Hopkins has been diagnosed with ALS.
The 51-year-old musician - who is best known being part of the the Grammy Award winning group Zac Brown Band - is suffering from muscle disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, which causes a progressive degeneration of motor nerve cells in the brain
He said: "Over the past several years, I've noticed some balance issues and some stiffness in my hands. After careful analysis by some of the country's top neurologists, I have been diagnosed with ALS. Because my symptoms have been slow progressing from the start, we believe they will continue to be slow progressing going forward."
However, the 'Chicken Fried' hitmaker - who is also known as The Hop - is determined to keep on rocking alongside bandmates including Jimmy De Martini, Zac Brown and Coy Bowles as he battles on with the disease which still does not have a cure.
Speaking in a video posted to YouTube, he added: "God willing, I plan to be rocking with these amazing people for many years to come! The technology and research surrounding ALS research has been advancing, but we still don't have a cure. Thanks so much for your prayers and support in helping us cure ALS.
Meanwhile, his fellow country stars were quick to reach out to their bandmate as they offered their support on Twittter and urged fans to donate to ALS research.
The band tweeted: "An important video announcement from our brother
@johndhopkins Let’s #HopOnACure for ALS, together. Text HOP to 345-345 or visit http://hoponacure.org
to make a donation and learn more.
@hoponacure."
