Michael Jackson’s father Joseph has been left temporarily blind after suffering a stroke on his 87th birthday.
Family sources said he was rushed to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo after waking up feeling dizzy, with no vision on Sunday morning.
In an emailed statement Monday, the hospital said that Jackson is in the intensive care unit. He is suffering from an irregular heartbeat, according to the statement.
Local media reported that Jackson, whose 87th birthday was on Sunday, missed his party because he was in the hospital.
Joe was treated to a party in Brazil to mark his big day on Friday.
US website TMZ reported that doctors were doing tests on the former music manager to decide whether to fly him back to America for further treatment.
Father-of-11 Joe was the man behind the Jackson 5 – the band that catapulted his son Michael to global superstardom.
However, his reputation was tarnished in the 80’s when it was claimed he was abusive to his children.
Jackson, who died six years ago, claimed that he would endure whippings and name-calling at the hands of Joe, though he admitted that his dad’s strict discipline did play a part in his huge success.
Speaking openly of his childhood abuse to Oprah Winfrey back in 1993, Jackson told how he often cried of loneliness and would sometimes get sick vomit upon seeing his dad.
He confessed that Joe would sit in a chair with a belt in his hand as Michael and his siblings rehearsed and say: “If you didn’t do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you.”
