How Elton John Turned Health Woes Into ‘Timeless Pieces’

Sir Elton John has turned what seemed like a personal setback into something extraordinary, making effective use of his knee that was removed in surgery.

Knee surgery, however, hasn’t been the only health challenge for the “Rocket Man” hitmaker. Last year, he revealed a serious condition that took away his sight.

Yet, nothing seems to be stopping Sir John anytime soon. He continues to make waves in his career while openly acknowledging the help of a “higher power.”

After a knee transplant, which didn’t come as a surprise to John due to his longtime love of 8-inch platforms, the singer transformed what his doctor described as “the worst knee he’s ever operated on” into a masterpiece.

The music icon opened up about turning his knees into jewelry in a newly-released documentary titled “Touched By Gold.”

“When I had my kneecaps removed, the left one first and then the right, I asked my surgeon if I could keep the kneecaps, which he was rather startled,” he recalled in the doc.

Sir John then handed the kneecaps over to Theo Fennel, giving him full creative freedom. Fennel went on to design a necklace with John’s right patella and a brooch with his left kneecap. The result left the singer astonished. 

“I honestly think these are timeless pieces that will last for centuries,” he gushed.

The necklace and brooch didn’t come about by chance. Fennel detailed the painstaking work that went into them. The kneecaps were first “baked out” to “dry them out.” This process, he explained, was crucial to making the bones raw so they could later be polished.

The necklace, crafted from John’s right patella, was gold-plated with a hole in it and an inscription on the back that read, “I’ll no longer bow to any man,” referencing his missing kneecaps. 

As for the brooch, it was born out of limited design options, yet John emphasized the importance of gold in his life, “The Gold is so important … the gold shoes, the gold glasses, the gold outfits, the gold capes… they’re so much a part of who I became,” Per US Weekly.

The knee surgery, however, hasn’t been his only health concern. John has also spoken publicly about losing his sight.

As reported by The Blast, he attended the launch of “The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical” at the London Dominion Theatre last year, where he revealed shocking news.

“As some of you may know, I have had issues, and now I have lost my sight. I haven’t been able to see the performance, but I have enjoyed it,” Sir John told the crowd.

The confession caught the audience by surprise because it contradicted his earlier assurance of “healing” with a slow process, after he had initially revealed that he lost his sight due to an infection in France.

John further revealed that his vision challenges might prevent him from recording music anytime soon. “Because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know, because I can’t see a lyric for a start,” he explained.

Despite these health battles, the 77-year-old icon continued to defy expectations with an unrelenting work ethic.

Following his massive 330-show “Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour,” John premiered two major musicals, “Tammy Faye on Broadway” and “The Devil Wears Prada in London.”

“Quite a few people who he is close to have now encouraged him to slow down because he has been busier than ever this year,” an insider revealed. “He isn’t getting any younger, and his health has been deteriorating in the past few years.”