Joni Mitchell has revealed she is still struggling to walk five years after suffering a brain aneurysm, but that her "Irish blood" is helping her recover.
The 76-year-old singer-songwriter was rushed to hospital in March 2015 after being found unconscious at her Los Angeles home.
A statement that was released on Mitchell's behalf at the time said she was "getting better each day" and "a full recovery is expected".
However in a rare interview with The Guardian, Mitchell said she is "inching along".
The Big Yellow Taxi singer said: "I'm just concentrating on getting my health back. You know what? I came back from polio, so here I am again, and struggling back".
Asked how she would characterize the past five years, she said: "Just inching my way along. I'm showing slow improvement but moving forward."
Referring to a bout of polio she experienced as a child, she added: "Yeah, because once again I couldn't walk. I had to learn how again. I couldn't talk.
"Polio didn't grab me like that, but the aneurysm took away a lot more, really. Took away my speech and my ability to walk.
"And, you know, I got my speech back quickly, but the walking I'm still struggling with.
"But I mean, I'm a fighter. I've got Irish blood. So you know, I knew, 'Here I go again, another battle."'
Mitchell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
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