Ric Flair’s mystery illness finally revealed, says People

Wrestling icon Ric Flair is blaming his recent health scare on decades of social drinking that finally caught up with him, according to a People magazine story published this week.

The article, posted Sept. 20, also identities the mysterious illnesses that Flair’s family and management have refused to discuss: The early stages of kidney failure and congestive heart failure. He remains in a convalescent center in Atlanta and needs a nurse, the article reports.

Flair, 68, told the magazine he will never drink again. He tweeted out a link to the article on Wednesday, noting he gave People an exclusive.

“I’m not out of the woods yet,” Flair told People. “Anything I’ve been through before is nothing like this...”

Flair was taken to an Atlanta hospital on Aug. 11 by his fiancée, Wendy Barlow, with severe stomach pains. He ended up staying for nearly a month, including periods when he was listed in critical condition and in a coma.

Doctors inserted a pacemaker and removed a part of his bowel, according to People.

Sources have said on social media that he was given only a 20-percent chance of survival at one point. His manager, who has since been fired, took to social media and asked fans for prayers.

Flair made his first public appearance last week when he attended a ceremony at the military college where Barlow’s son is a student.

He is a former Charlottean who now lives in Atlanta. Flair has famously escaped death more than once, including surviving a plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina, and being struck by lightning.