Kris Kristofferson was influential to the world of country in music and as an actor.

The country megastar’s recent passing affected many of the genre’s best and brightest. Now, fans of Kristofferson are learning about the many health battles he fought through. Per Fox News, Kristofferson opened up about his struggles with memory loss in 2013.

“I wish my memory weren’t so bad. They tell me it’s from all the football and boxing and the concussions that I got. A couple of years ago my memory just started going,” Kristofferson began. “But I can remember my songs so I can perform, but other than that…”

While Kristofferson attended Oxford University, he indeed played rugby and participated in boxing. Additionally, Kristofferson joined the Army for a while before ultimately settling down to give listeners around the world the absolute best he had to offer. Even well into his 70s, Kristofferson committed himself to both his music and his acting career.

Kris Kristofferson Battled Memory Loss And Misdiagnosed Lyme Disease

Unfortunately, later in his life, Kristofferson had to deal with the realization that his Alzheimer’s diagnosis had actually been Lyme Disease. Per CBS, Kristofferson’s memory loss had, for almost a decade, been attributed to Alzheimer’s. Later, a doctor decided to test the musician for Lyme Disease, and the test came back positive. Kristofferson had contracted the disease from “a tick as he crawled around the forest in Vermont during six weeks of filming the movie Disappearances.”

“He was taking all these medications for things he doesn’t have, and they all have side effects,” Kristofferson’s wife, Lisa, told Rolling Stone. After dropping all his medications, Kristofferson reportedly felt like a new person. “It’s like Lazarus coming out of the grave and being born again,” Chris Gantry said.

“For the past six or seven years, there was this slow realization that he was becoming forgetful. It was apparent.” However, despite his memory loss issues and Lyme Disease struggles, Kristofferson went on to further dedicate himself to what he loved. In the end, the musician only cemented his own legacy through his tireless determination and immense talent.