“We started using the wheelchair about 18 months ago, mostly in airports. I became 78 years old on May 5th 2026,” he said.
Why he wanted fans to know directly
Ward’s note was not framed as a farewell. If anything, it was a clarification. He said the wheelchair helps him move through public spaces and asked fans not to treat it as a sign that he has stepped away from music or public life.
“I was a long distance walker, I’ve walked in many different parts of the world, and I’m still a drummer. I can still play pretty good for 78 years old,” he wrote.
He added that his creative drive remains intact.
“My talents and ambitions, and my unyielding need to be artful, and to play drums, is still as strong as it was so many years ago now,” Ward continued.
Then came the part that seemed aimed at gently shutting down assumptions before they grow legs of their own.
“I’m just saying if you see me in a wheelchair, I’m just catching a ride, I’m not in retirement or ill or giving up, or any of those thoughts that ignite when we see people in wheelchairs.
“I’m making myself public and transparent about my new transport, and letting you know I’m OK.”
Ward encouraged fans to say hello if they see him at airports, music venues, theaters, or while he is visiting friends.
“If you see me in the airports or visiting friends in the music arenas or theatres say hi, I don’t bite, I’ll just look different, as pictured here,” he wrote.
He closed with a line that was both plain and very much in character: “Much love to you all and I’ll keep rocking until I’m dead.”
The update follows Ozzy Osbourne’s death
Ward’s public message arrives in the shadow of Osbourne’s death last summer. The Black Sabbath frontman died on July 22, 2025. According to his death certificate, Osbourne died from an acute myocardial infarction and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019.
After Osbourne’s death, Ward posted a tribute focused less on rock mythology than on grief, memory, and the strange unfinished business that remains after losing someone who has been part of your life for decades.
“Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart,” Ward wrote at the time.
He added: “Deepest condolences to Sharon and all family members. RIP. Sincere regrets to all the fans. Never goodbye. Thank you forever.”
The loss hit fans hard not only because Osbourne was one of heavy metal’s defining voices, but because the original Black Sabbath lineup had only just stood together again.
Black Sabbath’s final reunion came weeks earlier
Just weeks before Osbourne died, Ward reunited with Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler for Black Sabbath’s farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, on July 5, 2025.
That appearance carried real weight. Ward, Osbourne, Iommi, and Butler co-founded Black Sabbath in 1969, helping create the sound and vocabulary of heavy metal. The band’s self-titled debut album, released in 1970, brought them international attention and laid the foundation for a long, turbulent, deeply influential career.
The original lineup did not remain intact forever. Osbourne left the band in 1979, and Ward departed in 1983. Still, the four musicians reunited several times over the decades, including for that final 2025 performance.
Ward’s latest update is not a dramatic exit note. It is a veteran musician explaining a practical change in his life before others define it for him. He may look different when fans see him in public, but his message was simple enough: he is still here, still playing, and still deciding how to tell his own story.
