Health

"Below Deck" star Captain Lee Rosbach, AKA "The Stud of the Sea," is officially stepping back onto dry land ... leaving his luxury boat as his health struggles get worse.

Captain Rosbach dropped the bombshell on Monday's episode of the Bravo show -- telling his crew he had no choice but to leave the mega yacht after boarding at the beginning of season 10 with serious nerve issues.

He revealed his current health struggles have made it difficult to walk ... sharing it's gotten so bad, he can't feel anything on the left side of his body. He admitted he thought he'd make progress, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Captain Rosbach even told chef Rachel Hargrove his struggles have been "one of the most humbling experiences of my life." The episode leaves fans on a major cliffhanger after announcing his exit, but it's apparent the crew gets extremely emotional.

David Rudisha, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the best middle-distance runners in the world, survived a horrifying plane crash -- and is grateful to be alive.

Rudisha, a native of Kenya, told the Nation newspaper his plane took off after he attended the annual Maasai Olympics event at the wildlife sanctuary in Kajiado South-East Kenya when disaster struck.

DR told the outlet about seven or eight minutes into the flight the engine malfunctioned, resulting in the plane going down in the Imbirkiana area in Kajiado.

"It was a scary episode where you hold your heart in your hand as you pray to God," Rudisha said. "The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long."

Rudisha was on board with five other people at the time of the crash. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, and they were all evacuated to Makindu Hospital for treatment.

"We thank God we all came out alive with some soft tissue injuries that were treated before all were discharged save for one," said Rudisha.

Unfortunately for Rudisha (or maybe fortunately), this isn't the first time the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics 800m champion almost lost his life in a serious accident.

In 2019, the two-time Olympic champ's SUV crashed into a bus in a Kenyan village. Luckily, David escaped the crash with minor injuries.

Lensa AI's new "Magic Avatar" feature is all the rage online ... and also in plastic surgery offices, where some patients are willing to pay for those images to become them in real life!!!

Dr. Terry Dubrow, who cohosts "Botched," tells TMZ … 2 people have already approached him asking if he can turn them into their Lensa AI self-portraits, which were generated by the app.

Dubrow -- who says he thought it was a crazy prank request at first -- tells us he turned them down because what they wanted wasn't possible in the operating room.

He also says he's concerned this trend is going to take unrealistic expectations to the next level -- making people feel worse about what they see in the mirror, and not wanting to show their real selves in public anymore.

Ditto for Dr. Deepak Dugar -- who's had clients like Mia Khalifa. He tells us he's actually had 5 Lensa-related requests over the past week, and it gravely worries him as well.

Dugar says he thinks this can actually become pretty dangerous if folks get too accustomed to their AI avatars ... as they might start to blend reality and fantasy.

Basically, the features exhibited in some of these AI renderings do not translate to real human bone structure -- but even if someone insisted, Dr. Dugar says he'd steer them away from it completely, because it’s simply not safe to even attempt.

He also says he thinks this is just a fad that'll die down the more people participate.

Likewise, Dr. Ben Talei -- who's done work on celebs like Shanna Moakler -- tells us he too has received a Lensa AI inquiry, but notes he's gotten AI avatar submissions a lot over the past few years.

He says while Lensa might be the new iteration of this avatar fascination ... the phenomenon actually traces back to Snapchat.

All the same, Talei says his fear is a dysmorphic patient actually does find a doctor with the same vision for a surgery … something he says no ethical surgeon would perform.

Legendary college football coach Mike Leach -- who's spent the last three seasons running Mississippi State's sidelines -- has been hospitalized ... and he's now reportedly fighting for his life.

MSU officials said in a statement Sunday afternoon that Leach suffered a "personal health issue at his home" that required him to be rushed to a hospital in Jackson, Miss.

The school provided no further details on his status ... though Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger reported Sunday night that the 61-year-old is in "critical" condition.

Bulldogs reporter Robbie Faulk added that Leach "needs a miracle."

The college football world was rocked by the news ... with many of the top names in the sport tweeting prayers for the man credited with creating the "Air Raid" offense.

USC coach Lincoln Riley tweeted, "Prayers for my good friend Mike Leach. Please keep Coach and his family in your prayers." Univ. of Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen added, "While I am devastated by today’s news, I know Mike is a fighter with an incredible spirit and I know he will continue to battle. Prayers to Sharon and their extended family."

MSU said preparation for its bowl game on Jan. 2 against Illinois will still go on ... with defensive coordinator Zach Arnett taking over head coaching duties from Leach.

Bam Margera has made a full recovery, it seems, because the guy is out of the hospital and on his own two feet again ... TMZ has confirmed.

The 'Jackass' star posted a photo Saturday that showed him posing with a buddy, adding a caption that read ... "I’m out! Thank you to my friends, family and you for the love, support and prayers." A day earlier, his team posted an update on his condition.

They wrote, "Fortunately, he is now testing negative for COVID and receiving care for pneumonia. Bam is on the road to recovery and thankfully will be discharged soon."

It sounds like he's out of the woods now, but for a while there ... his condition sounded fairly serious and potentially dire, as he was put on a ventilator by doctors out of an abundance of caution.

As we reported ... BM was treated at a San Diego hospital after contracting pneumonia, which was compounded by the fact that he caught 'rona right around the same time -- a terrible combination. He was in the ICU, but we were told he was in stable condition.

Thomas Markle is steering clear of his daughter's docuseries, "Harry & Meghan" ... according to Meghan's half sister, who says their father's more focused on his health than the project she calls "disrespectful."

Samantha Markle tells TMZ ... she's protecting her dad by telling him not to watch the new doc, saying Meghan's kicked Thomas while he was down in the past, and a series like this just further disrespects their fam.

Samantha says Thomas doesn't know what's in the series, and doesn't need to find out.

She doesn't think he'd even want to watch, because the royal family ordeal has been damaging to his health for a while. Most importantly, he's still recovering from the stroke he suffered earlier this year.

If you haven't seen it, the Netflix series is essentially the Duke and Duchess' side of everything they've been through -- from their first date to leaving the royal family to dealing with racist British headlines.

It also includes their viewpoint of the drama with Thomas leading up to their wedding, which he famously did not attend. Harry even says how "incredibly sad" it is for his wife to have lost her dad.

Brittney Griner's signature locs are no more ... and, according to her attorney, it's all 'cause Russian prison temperatures were causing brutal hair freezing.

Maria Blagovolina, who repped the WNBA star in her trial in Russia, told ESPN on Thursday the 32-year-old got the haircut two Sundays ago ... after her 'do kept freezing following prison showers.

Blagovolina said rather than deal with the issue for an entire Russian winter, Griner elected to chop it all off.

"It's very cold in there and every time she washed her hair she got cold and would get a chill," Blagovolina said. "She should have waited until New Year's Day."

Griner had donned long hair for YEARS ... rarely ever letting the flow get shorter than shoulder-length.

The basketball player looked ecstatic nonetheless while leaving Russia on Thursday -- smiling with the new haircut while telling at least one person on her plane that she was "happy."

U.S. official John Kirby said Friday after Griner touched down in San Antonio that she's in "very, very good spirits" and "appeared to be, obviously, in good health."

Griner is now expected to be checked out by medical personnel in Texas ... before returning home to Phoenix.

Bam Margera is in a hospital battling a very serious case of pneumonia, complicated by COVID-19 ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the situation tell us Bam was hospitalized in San Diego earlier this week. He then tested positive for Covid while in the hospital ... and since then we're told doctors decided to put him on a ventilator. He's being treated in ICU, but his condition is stable.

As we reported, Bam's been in and out of rehab this year after he had completed a one-year treatment program for drug and alcohol abuse.

Our sources say during one of his stints in rehab, he befriended an attorney who convinced him he could get him out of the court-ordered treatment and "free Bam."

Since then, we've seen him partying it up in Atlanta in September, and hitting Las Vegas the following month. We're told Bam never completed his court order and many people close to him were concerned for the former 'Jackass' star.

Our sources say the so-called "Free Bam Movement" -- which was fueled by online speculation his family put him in a conservatorship similar to Britney Spears -- really confused Bam and hurt his recovery process.

We're told it got so bad, his family and temporary healthcare guardian -- who's a longtime family friend -- started receiving threats over the summer, and had to address it publicly.

Brittney Griner is finally home ... the WNBA star touched down on U.S. soil early Friday morning -- after officials successfully negotiated her release from Russian custody on Thursday.

The 32-year-old was spotted getting off a private jet in San Antonio ... at around 5:40 AM ET.

She appeared to be wearing the same outfit -- a red jacket and dark-colored pants -- that she wore when she crossed paths with Viktor Bout in the UAE after the U.S. agreed to trade the arms dealer to Russia in exchange for the basketball player.

White House National Security Council Communications Coordinator John Kirby told TODAY after Griner's arrival that those who traveled with her said she was in "very, very good spirits."

"[She] appeared to be, obviously, in good health," Kirby added.

Griner is now expected to undergo a myriad of testing at a local medical facility in Texas to make sure she's OK ... before she eventually returns to her home in Phoenix.

Griner had been detained in Russia since February -- after she was accused of bringing hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport. In August, she was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison.

Following her release on Thursday, Griner was seen smiling on a plane as she made her way back to the States.

Her wife, Cherelle Griner, said at the White House hours after her release that she felt like her family was "whole" again.

"Today is just a happy day for me and my family," she said. "So, I'm going to smile right now."

Olive Garden is saying arrivederci to a controversial restaurant manager who allegedly got so fed up with employees calling out for work they demanded proof even if a staffer's dog died.

A message reportedly sent from the disgraced manager to employees and obtained by KCTV read, "Our call-offs are occurring at a staggering rate. From now on, if you call off, you might as well go out and look for another job. We are no longer tolerating ANY EXCUSE for calling off. If you’re sick, you need to come prove it to us. If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us."

The manager, who worked at an OG location in Kansas, continued their rant by claiming they'd not taken a single day off in more than 11 years at the franchise.

Allegedly writing, "Do you know in my 11.5 years at Darden how many days I called off? Zero. I came in sick. I got in a wreck literally on my way to work one time, airbags went off and my car was totaled, but you know what, I made it to work, ON TIME.”

Barbara "Babs" Thore, known to many as Whitney's mom on "My Big Fat Fabulous Life," has died.

Whitney broke the news to fans Thursday ... saying her mom died Wednesday "just as the credits rolled on her favorite movie." She says the time she passed -- 10:32 PM -- was also the exact time Whitney was born back in 1984.

Whitney says her mom suffered from cerebral amyloid angiopathy ... an unfortunately untreatable condition that can cause brain bleeding, strokes and dementia. She says Babs had been having strokes since 2017.

She goes on to share her love for her mom, and her pain about the tragic loss -- she ends the post directed at the fans, "We are unbelievably thankful that we've been able to share her with you and it is our hope that her memory will continue to be a source of comfort and happiness for the rest of your lives ... I love you, mommy."

Fans of the show remember Babs in all 10 seasons of the TLC show ... as the series progressed, a portion of the show began focusing on her health struggles with her condition.

The 10th season saw Babs' road to recovery, and release from the hospital after suffering one of her strokes. TLC has yet to announce whether the hit series will return for the 11th season.

Babs is survived by Whitney, as well as her son, Hunter, and her husband, Glenn.

She was 76.

The American Girl doll brand is standing its ground after getting a ton of backlash for a book that encourages young girls to explore their identity, and offers info about transitioning.

The company tells TMZ, "We value the views and feedback of our customers and acknowledge the perspectives on this issue. The content in this book, geared for kids 10+, was developed in partnership with medical and adolescent care professionals and consistently emphasizes the importance of having conversations and discussing any feelings with parents or trusted adults."

AG continues, "We are committed to delivering content that leaves our readers feeling informed, confident, and positive about themselves."

The franchise is known for promoting self-esteem among young girls, but it had a lot of folks up in arms for selling its book, "A Smart Girl's Guide: Body Image Book". Some social media users accused the company of promoting puberty blockers to children ... and convincing them they're born the wrong way.

One of the specific sections that got a lot of pushback reads, "If you haven't gone through puberty yet, the doctor might offer medicine to delay your body's changes, giving you more time to think about your gender identity."

Celine Dion is coping with a serious disorder that makes people unable to talk or walk -- and as a result, she's forced to postpone her European tour once again.

The singer was very emotional early Thursday morning as she revealed her diagnosis, telling fans about the extremely rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome.

Celine says it's the reason she's been suffering spasms lately, and it's affected "every aspect of my daily life" -- and it's made it difficult for her to sing at her full ability.

Celine then breaks the tour news to fans ... before adding she's got a team of medical professionals working on getting her back into performance mode, but it hasn't been easy.

Stiff-person syndrome only affects about one in a million people, and it can cause frequent muscle spasms due to heightened sensitivity to things like touch, emotional distress or noise. It can leave some unable to walk or, in severe cases, speak.

Celine's concert was set to kick off February in the Czech Republic -- but it's now slated for March 2024, according to her site. A handful of other shows were canceled, too.

Chris Kattan is hospitalized after a scary health situation forced him into emergency surgery ... and as a result, he'll miss some upcoming dates in his comedy tour.

Sources connected to Chris tell TMZ he recently came down with Streptococcus Pneumoniae, an extreme case of pneumonia, and on Sunday was rushed to the hospital. From there, he needed emergency surgery, but thankfully the operation was successful.

We're told as long as things continue to go well, Chris will be released from the hospital Friday, and can hopefully return to work sometime in the near future.

Unfortunately, Chris had a show lined up for this Friday in Valparaiso, IN ... which we're told will have to be rescheduled, along with some other upcoming tour dates.

As you know, Chris stayed out of the limelight for a while, but is back to doing standup.

Of course, he had an 8-year run on "SNL" where he was featured in some iconic sketches, playing Mango or boppin' his head with Will Ferrell during "A Night at the Roxbury."

BTW -- we got Chris at LAX earlier this year telling us how he was champing at the bit to revive the 1990s cult classic comedy -- he said he'd wanted a "Roxbury" sequel for years, and had ideas about how to bring it into the 21st century.

Dustin Poirier was just released from the hospital after battling a nasty Staph infection -- but the UFC star refused to miss even a beat of daddy duty -- the lightweight contender went straight to watch his daughter in her school play!

33-year-old Dustin, on crutches, along with his wife, Jolie, attended their six-year-old daughter Parker's play in Louisiana ... where his adorable little girl was dressed as an angel.

"Straight from the hospital to the school play to see my little angel this morning!" Poirier wrote on social media.

Just a day ago, Poirier was laying in a hospital bed as doctors treated his left foot ... after he came down with a Staph infection.

According to the Mayo Clinic, "Staph infections are caused by staphylococcus bacteria." They typically clear up after the patients been treated with an antibiotic. But, MC says that's not always the case.

"However, some staph infections no longer respond, or become resistant, to common antibiotics. To treat antibiotic-resistant staph infections, health care providers may need to use antibiotics that can cause more side effects."

Dustin posted a photo of the mangled appendage ... and captioned it with what we were all thinking -- "Wut da helllll?"

As serious as the infection can be, it's great news to see DP discharged from the hospital.

Poirier was last in the Octagon at UFC 281 ... where he defeated Michael Chandler in one of the year's most exciting fights.

It's unclear how long it'll be until Dustin's ready to fight again.

Take a deep breath, Bills Mafia -- Von Miller says everything is going to be okay after undergoing season-ending ACL surgery ... sending a heartfelt message to his fans from the hospital bed.

Miller posted a video shortly after the bad news broke ... saying, "Yerrr! Bills Mafia, what's good? I'm good man. I'ma be right back, man."

"Mentally, I couldn't be in a better spot and I think that is the majority of it. Don't feel sorry for me, don't say I hate it for you -- none of that stuff 'cause I am good!"

The Bills announced on Wednesday that the star pass rusher -- who signed a 6-year, $120 million contract this offseason -- is sidelined for the rest of the season due to the injury ... but Miller is already looking forward to getting back to 100%.

"I'm excited for the opportunity to show my teammates how tough I am, how hard I work, and how important that this means to me. I love you guys, and I appreciate you guys. All love and respect. Don't blink, baby!"

Miller suffered the injury against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day ... but the initial belief was that the 33-year-old avoided significant knee injury.

According to head coach Sean McDermott, Von checked in to the hospital for exploratory surgery ... but doctors told the two-time Super Bowl Champ that he tore his ACL instead.

McDermott called the injury a "very unfortunate situation" for Miller and their team ... adding he knows how much #40 will miss being out there with the guys.