Celebrity Health

"Our hearts are broken. Judy has been everything to our family."

That's Tom Coughlin -- 2x Super Bowl-winning head coach -- revealing the tremendous pain his family felt since his wife of 53 years, Judy Coughlin, was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in 2020.

The 74-year-old coach announced the devastating news on Monday, authoring a guest essay for the NY Times, detailing his year-long struggle as primary caregiver for his wife.

FYI, the Mayo Clinic defines PSP as an "uncommon brain disorder that causes serious problems with walking, balance and eye movements, and later with swallowing. The disorder results from deterioration of cells in areas of your brain that control body movement, coordination, thinking and other important functions."

Coughlin -- who twice beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl as Giants HC -- says it took doctors years to diagnose the disease that was "slowly taking [Judy] away from us."

Since IDing the disorder, Tom says life has been incredibly difficult for his family.

"For the past four years, we've helplessly watched her go from a gracious woman with a gift of conversation, hugging all the people she met and making them feel they were the most important person in the room, to losing all ability to speak and move," Coughlin wrote.

TC says Judy -- who used to be an active, outgoing person -- now spends most days watching television at home.

"She used to enjoy planning family get-togethers, going for morning walks and caring for her rosebushes; however, those activities are just distant memories. Her days are now filled with lying in bed, watching the Hallmark Channel, sitting in a wheelchair in the sun and receiving round-the-clock care."

"And what's worse, she is trapped inside a body that will not allow her to be the person she was."

Coughlin -- who parted ways with the Jacksonville Jaguars (EVP, Football Operations) in 2019 -- says he's become his wife's main caretaker ... and the switch in roles has been a difficult transition.

"Judy's decline has been nothing but gut-wrenching and has placed me in the club with tens of millions of other Americans who serve as primary caregiver for a loved one. Admittedly, transitioning from being with an NFL franchise to full-time caregiver wasn't easy."

Buffalo Bills receiver Cole Beasley -- who's passionately outspoken against getting the COVID-19 vaccine -- will spend the next 5 days in quarantine ... this, after coming in close contact with a trainer who tested positive for the virus.

Beasley and fellow WR Gabriel Davis -- who have both been opposed to getting the jab -- tested negative for the virus on Monday ... but due to the NFL's protocols, they're now forced to spend nearly a week away from the team.

Worth noting -- the trainer who tested positive was fully vaccinated, according to Adam Schefter.

Of course, vaccinated players who are deemed close contacts are not required to quarantine ... and are only tested once every two weeks, as opposed to unvaccinated players being tested daily.

It shouldn't come as a surprise Beasley isn't vaccinated -- he's gone on countless rants on the topic, even saying, "I may die of COVID, but I'd rather die actually living."

Beasley's teammate, Dion Dawkins, meanwhile, is taking COVID-19 and the vaccination seriously ... after being hospitalized with the virus for four days.

Ever wanted to ride a skateboard with Tony Hawk's blood INSIDE of it?!

You're in luck ... 'cause the skate legend has just released a line of boards that have a vial of his blood infused into the decks' paint jobs!!!

The 53-year-old skater teamed up with Liquid Death, a canned water company, to make the rides ... and they're gnarly.

Liquid Death documented how they were made in a video released Tuesday ... showing how Hawk's blood was drawn from his arm and eventually poured into the red paint that was used for the skateboards' graphics scheme.

Liquid Death says the boards -- which feature the company's "It's the Thirst Executioner" character holding a hawk skull and a bloody ax -- are limited to a quantity of just 100 ... and are currently selling for $500 apiece.

The water co. adds that each ride will come with a certificate of authenticity ... and Hawk says he's in love with it all.

"I am deeply thankful to have a connection with my fans, and I appreciate how Liquid Death connects with theirs," said Hawk, who added that he just recently became an ambassador for the water company.

"This collaboration is taking those connections to a new level, as I have literally put my blood (and soul?) into these decks."

Hawk continued, "And I take pride in knowing that organizations fighting plastic pollution and creating skate parks worldwide will be supported through our efforts."

Hawk says a percentage of the proceeds from the rides will go to Hawk's The Skatepark Project as well as 5 Gyres, an environmental nonprofit organization.

Kid Cudi is mourning the loss of his beloved dog ... and it'll make you cry to hear about it.

The rapper wrote a heartbreaking tribute to Freshie ... a dog he got in 2010 after the producers of "How to Make it in America" told him he'd be a weed-selling, dog-walking character on season 2. He got the dog to prepare for the role.

Cudi and Freshie formed a tight bond ... "I had no previous interactions [with] dogs prior, other than giving one a pet if my friends had one at their place. I was truly nervous around dogs and I wanted to be comfortable onset [with] them so it felt legit."

He added, "I had no idea I would have such a best friend in my life. He's been here for 11 years, and my life has been one hell of a rollercoaster this whole time."

The rapper said Freshie would come up to him and lick his face if he was crying. Kid Cudi called Freshie his guardian angel because there were nights where he held a knife to his stomach but, "I'd see Freshie and I couldn't do it. He would stare at me when I would have a knife to my stomach, eyes glaring at me tellin' me to put the knife down."

Kid Cudi checked into rehab in 2016 for depression and suicidal urges.

Dr. Fauci's delivering a harsh dose of reality for Americans ... he says we won't get the pandemic under control until spring, 2022 -- and that's only if people get the damn vaccine.

It's a huge step backward from just a few months ago. Remember, President Biden hopefully called July 4 Independence Day from the pandemic, and it looked like we were heading in that direction. But then, the delta variant hit, and everything changed.

More than 80 million Americans have not received a single shot, and that's what triggered the explosion of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the past month.

A number of states are reporting their highest level of COVID-19 cases since spring ... when vaccine rates were much, much lower.

The good news -- the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer vax Monday, which could convince some of the holdouts it's time to get their shots. It also gives businesses an even better reason to mandate vaccinations and exclude those who refuse to get the shot.

Patrick Reed -- one of the best golfers on the planet -- has been hospitalized ... after the PGA Tour star says he's been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.

The 31-year-old former Masters champ announced the scary news in a statement to Golf Channel's Todd Lewis ... saying, fortunately, all signs are pointing toward him getting back to 100 percent health soon.

"I'm on the road to recovery," said Reed, who had been battling an ankle injury before his bout with the serious lung infection. "Once I'm cleared from the doctors -- I look forward to returning [to golf]."

Reed added, "I wish you all the best and I can't wait to get back out there!"

Reed -- who's been in a Houston-area hospital since Friday -- has pulled out of this weekend's BMW Championship while he continues to fight off the pneumonia.

It's unclear if Reed's diagnosis was in any way related to COVID-19.

Reed has been one of the most consistent golfers on the PGA Tour the past few years ... famously winning the Masters in 2018 and the Farmers Insurance Open last January.

Despite the hellish scene in and around Afghanistan in recent weeks, here's a snapshot of some humanity at its finest ... a Marine giving kids water as they wait to be evacuated.

Check out this sweet clip of a soldier on the ground in what appears to be Kabul -- where a majority of the load-and-go's have been happening. He's going around pouring H2O into the mouths of several thirsty Afghan children ... straight from his own water bottle.

Not much talking is happening here -- it's all body language, and the kiddos get the drill ... opening up and letting the guy waterfall for a couple seconds each. It's both heartwarming, but also sad ... presumably, there isn't much fresh water to go around at the moment.

It's just an example of U.S. forces there still doing the hard work of trying to get people out ASAP ... while also maintaining a good attitude and trying to keep things light, especially with the little ones. Different photos have emerged showing exactly that within the walls of the Kabul Airport, where different military personnel are interacting with locals.

Of course, it's not always as rosy as this one moment was -- there are several videos that are way more tense ... with U.S. troops trying to maintain order among those seeking to flee, in some cases needing to apparently fire warning shots in the air for crowd control.

Still, when they can ... seems the men and women of our armed forces are doing their best to keep the peace and follow orders -- namely, to keep up the steady stream of flights out of there going as efficiently and safely as possible ... with Taliban lurking everywhere.

The White House says that between Saturday and Sunday, about 8,000 people total have been evacuated between dozens of flights that are being provided by the U.S. military, allies and even some commercial airlines who've stepped up after President Biden called for help.

Webbie had to be carried out of a club this weekend after he stumbled off stage following what appears to be a medical emergency ... and the scary moment is on video.

The Louisiana rapper was performing Friday night at 213 Lux Lounge in Roanoke, VA -- and at some point during his concert (or perhaps shortly thereafter) he was caught on camera looking ill and being led out of the building by his team ... staggering along the way.

Right before that, he seemed fine ... playing to a packed crowd and having level footing with seemingly no issues.

That makes this clip all the more alarming ... you see Webbie struggling to stay on his feet as he starts to exit the stage and reaching out for assistance -- but before he can clear the doorway, the guy collapses on the floor.

His guys surround him and they appear to start calling for help and for someone to dial 911. Before long, though, they hoist Webbie up themselves and carry him out of the building ... this as people looked on in fear, and while someone else was on stage rapping.

It's unclear what exactly happened to him here -- some are speculating it may have been a seizure of some sort, but we haven't confirmed that. It's unclear where he was taken after this ... presumably, his team rushed him to the hospital -- because this looked serious.

We got calls in to his camp for more details ... so far, no word back.

William Petersen had a scary situation while on the clock this week -- he had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital after falling ill on set of his most popular show.

The longtime 'CSI' star's rep tells TMZ ... Petersen was working on set Friday in L.A. for "CSI: Las Vegas" when, at some point, he started feeling terrible ... and told the director that he needed a break.

It became clear he might've needed more than just a rest -- because we're told an ambulance was called on his behalf, and Bill was taken to a nearby facility. The rep says it was mostly done out of an abundance of caution, but it was clearly serious enough to call.

As to what led to the health scare ... WP's rep tells us his guy has been working nonstop long days for the past 12 weeks -- so this may have been a case of overexertion or exhaustion.

Some quick thinking by U.S. military pilots may have saved the life of an Afghan woman and her newborn after the woman went into labor mid-flight during an evacuation mission.

The C-17 was headed to a U.S. base in Ramstein, Germany -- where many evacuees have been taken -- when the woman went into labor and began having complications.

The pilots made a decision to descend to a lower altitude, which in turn, increased the plane's cabin pressure and helped stabilize the woman, and according to U.S. Air Mobility Command, saved her life.

Once the plane landed, Airmen from the 86th MDG boarded and helped the woman deliver a baby girl in the cargo bay of the C-17.

Photos taken on the runway show the new mother on a stretcher surrounded by troops.

Donald Trump can say just about anything to his base and they will cheer ... anything, with one big exception -- urging folks to get the vaccine.

Trump was booed -- yes booed -- during a rally in Cullman, Alabama Saturday night, after urging the crowd to get the COVID shot. "I believe totally in your freedoms," he said. "I do, you gotta do what you gotta do, but I recommend taking the vaccines. I did it. It's good."  You'd think he just told them to surrender their guns, because the crowd turned on him.

"That's okay, that's alright," Trump said, pressing on. "But I happen to take the vaccine. If it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know. But it is working. You do have your freedoms, you have to maintain that."

And, there's more. Trump has bragged in the past about his "good relationship" with the Taliban.

At the rally, Trump praised the Taliban as "great negotiators" and "tough fighters." He also said, “with me in office the Taliban would not have ever dreamt of capturing our airfield or parading around with our American weapons.”

He even suggested we might send our troops back to Afghanistan ... curious, since he's the one who set the wheels in motion for the withdrawal.

The hero who helped free the alligator handler from the reptile's jaws says he knew he needed to jump in the tank and save her ... and her mom says it's divine intervention.

Donnie Wiseman, the hero from the scary incident at Scales and Tails Utah, tells TMZ ... he felt even better about jumping in the tank to wrestle the gator after getting an emotional message from Lindsay Bull's mother.

He says she told him it was a godsend for him to be on Lindsay's tour, because he was the only one there who was willing to sacrifice his life to save her. Donnie says he cried when he got the message and it made everything worthwhile.

As we reported ... the alligator attacked Lindsay in front of a tour full of paying customers, and Donnie rushed in to save her ... putting his life on the line.

Donnie says he knew it was now or never after seeing the terrified look on Lindsay's face ... and while he's got lots of experience with reptiles, he had never dealt with an alligator before.

As we first told you ... Lindsay escaped with some broken bones and tendon damage, and somehow she's gonna be alright.

Reverend Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, are in the hospital due to COVID-19 -- a worrisome update, especially considering his health problems ... and the fact he's vaccinated.

The civil rights leader's organization, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, broke the news Saturday ... saying the Jacksons were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after contracting the virus. Their conditions are unknown, but they're being monitored closely.

The org also notes ... anyone's who's been around them in the last 5-6 days should quarantine and get tested, per CDC guidelines. Not much else was provided as far as updates -- but their son, Jonathan, says the family will release info accordingly.

Like we said -- Mr. Jackson (and presumably, Mrs. Jackson too) is vaccinated ... he actually got the jab way back in January, doing so publicly and broadcasting as a way to encourage the Black community and others to get inoculated early and often ... and to quell hesitation.

Rev. Jackson has had other health issues lately -- he was hospitalized shortly after getting the vaccine for abdominal pain and underwent surgery. He's also battling Parkinson's.

Mississippi health officials seem to be dumbfounded they have to say this, but they're doing it regardless -- because people are dumb ... ingesting a livestock drug to battle COVID.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs had to say as much this week during a press call, where he and others were forced to address the soaring number of people there who are apparently ingesting ivermectin at an alarming rate ... all in an effort to ward off the virus.

Local reports say that the majority of poison control calls in Mississippi lately -- a whopping 70%, no less -- are related to folks calling for advice after having taken ivermectin as some sort of COVID remedy. Supposedly, these are people looking for alternatives to the vaccine.

BTW, this drug is usually for livestock (like cows/horses) ... and it's made to fight off parasites that grow in their gut, like worms and whatnot. There have been instances where humans have also been prescribed ivermectin for similar purposes, but in way smaller doses.

As Dr. Dobbs notes in his remarks, taking ivermectin straight out of a box you might find at an animal feed or farm supply store can be VERY toxic and even kill you ... so, it goes without saying, that he doesn't recommend it -- and instead, suggests people just vaxx up.

Speaking of these stores, a photo was circulating this week purportedly showing a shop in Mississippi hawking ivermectin ... and apparently encouraging customers to stock up. It's unclear how exactly this quack treatment started making the rounds, but it looks like many are well aware of it, and a portion of them are even giving it a go with bad results.

Even the FDA had to step in and say something about this ... they tweeted out a direct warning against taking ivermectin, wisely noting that we humans are not cows or horses.

Drew Pearson is concerned for Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys ... saying he believes the quarterback not playing in the preseason this year could cost the team BIGTIME.

The Hall of Fame wideout explained his stance to TMZ Sports ... saying he thinks Dak NEEDS preseason games after sitting out most of last season with an ankle injury.

"I think you need to at least go out there and start a series and get the feel of that, have that confidence that you’re ok," Drew says.

Of course, Dallas has announced Dak will NOT play in the preseason ... as they're being overly cautious with a new shoulder injury that cropped up for Prescott a few weeks ago.

Drew says he'd handle things differently with Dak if he were running the team ... telling us he believes preseason games are the key to early success in the regular season.

"You know, back in the day, we played preseason games, OK?" Pearson says. "Back when I started, we played six of them. And, we played each and every one."

Drew says he believes that formula helped him stay healthy and play effectively in nearly every game of his career ... adding, "I missed three games in 11 years."

"Billy Joe Dupree missed none. 'Too Tall' [Ed Jones] played 15, missed none. Randy White, 15, missed none. That's because we were in condition to handle the physical part of the game."

Regular season for the Cowboys kicks off on Sept. 9 ... guess we'll know soon enough if the Cowboys made the right call.

Stephen Ritz is already getting national attention, from the likes of Michelle Obama no less, for teaching students how to grow veggies ... and he's being called a hero for how that food was used during the pandemic.

The best-selling author, public school teacher and founder of Green Bronx Machine joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and explained ... his students do learn how to grow their own food and cook.

But, Stephen says his program also teaches them other skills ... like reading, writing, math and how to engage with emerging opportunities.

The students are already making a difference in their community ... Stephen says they grew 5,000 pounds of food in his classroom alone during the pandemic, and a total of 100,000 pounds in schools across the country.

He says it all went to local communities struggling with food insecurity.

Stephen says his students are making their neighborhoods and themselves better. It starts in the garden -- but the plants help the kids grow, fueling them to make their schools and environments a better place for all.