Illness and Retirement
On 30 November 2006, The Wiggles announced that Greg Page would leave the group due to poor health.
Page had experienced health difficulties since December 2005, when he underwent a double hernia operation and withdrew from his group's U.S. tour after suffering repeated fainting spells, slurred speech, fatigue, and trembling. Although Page was missing for virtually all of the late 2006 U.S. tour, audiences were informed of Page's absence at concerts moments before the curtain went up. At first, Page was told that he had seven years to live, but he was diagnosed with a non-life-threatening and difficult to diagnose chronic illness called orthostatic intolerance or dysautonomia, which causes symptoms such as fatigue and loss of balance. Specialists believed that Page had mild episodes of the illness going back twelve years, and that his symptoms worsened after his hernias. It was decided that Page would retire from performing with The Wiggles to better manage his health. In the months following the announcement of Page's retirement, he received an "overwhelming outpouring of public support". He reported that it took his parents six months to respond to the "mountains of letters, emails and sympathy notes". As part owner of The Wiggles, Page received a payout of about $20 million.
Page was succeeded by Sam Moran as a full member of the group.
Read more about this topic: Greg Page (musician)
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