Muhammad Ali finally home from hospital–but it wasn’t pneumonia after all

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was hospitalized back on December 20th after it was rumored he suddenly stopped breathing. At the time, reports indicated he was suffering from pneumonia, a common complication seen among people, like Ali, living with Parkinson’s disease.

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Since that time, little information has been available on Ali’s condition, and his family requested media privacy when the boxing champion was admitted into medical care. The silence was broken yesterday, however, when Ali was finally released from the hospital and doctors confirmed he was not suffering from pneumonia as rumored, but had been admitted with a serious urinary tract infection.

According to family spokesman Bob Gunnell, Muhammad Ali is now looking forward to celebrating his 73rd birthday on Jan. 17 and is “in great spirits and enjoying being back home,” Gunnell told AP. “He’s back in his daily routine.”

A severe urinary tract infection is not uncommon for people living with Parkinson’s disease, though it has not been confirmed if Ali’s conditions were related. According to the National Parkinson Foundation, because the bladder is a muscle, it is one of the areas of the body susceptible to the effects of Parkinson’s. The bladder can become weak and eventually unable to expel urine. As urine sits in the bladder, it promotes the growth of bacteria which can lead to serious infections.

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Despite his health issues, Muhammad Ali continues to be an active role model though he no longer speaks at public functions. Since his retirement from boxing in 1982, he has taken on a number of humanitarian efforts and was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2005.

Though his appearances have diminished over the last few years, family and friends indicate Ali is doing well and is living life to the fullest, despite his medical diagnosis.

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