B.B. King supposedly suffered a medical emergency over the weekend.
The 89-year-old blues singer began receiving treatment for Type II diabetes more than 20 years ago.
And according to TMZ, the health condition sent him to a hospital near his Las Vegas home during the Easter holidays.
B.B.’s representative tells the outlet “he remains hospitalised” at the undisclosed medical centre.
Apparently this most recent hospitalisation took place after he suffered dehydration stemming from his Type II diabetes.
B.B. is the father of 15 children from multiple women and British newspaper The Guardian previously reported one of his daughters died from diabetes-related complications in 2012. B.B.’s mother also passed away from the disease, when he was at the tender age of just nine years old.
The iconic bluesman has been committed to promoting awareness around Type II diabetes for decades, having been a spokesperson for glucose monitoring machine manufacturer LifeScan in the past.
“My father died at 87, and the only thing I know is that he had high blood glucose and gout. My mother died when I was nine. I think she went blind before she died. It must have been related to diabetes. Nobody knew what to do at that time. We were people living out in the country. We didn’t have all the modern conveniences like blood glucose testing,” B.B. told Diabetes Health magazine in 2005.
“I hope my voice and the things I say will encourage someone out there and help them learn the truth about diabetes and act on it. A lot of people would like to have the actual truth. Some people don’t believe that diabetes is life threatening. But it is. I lost a sister and a niece who had diabetes. I tried to beg them to do what they should, but they’re not with me anymore.”
