Singer Michael Grimm’s wife is appealing for donations while he remains hospitalized battling an unknown illness.
Lucie Zolcerva-Grimm posted a Facebook Live video on her husband’s Instagram account late Tuesday in which she updated fans on his condition. In the caption, she listed several ways to donate, including PayPal and the U.S. app Venmo.
Zolcerva-Grimm also urged fans to “purchase his music on ANY platform.”
Grimm, who won Season 5 of America’s Got Talent in 2010, was rushed to hospital on May 29, his wife said, because he could barely walk or lift his head. The 44-year-old singer was “talking gibberish” and suffering tremors, according to Zolcerva-Grimm, and doctors sedated him and put him on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.
Grimm was taken off a ventilator on Tuesday and his wife said he is “doing good” and “improving.” She added: “He has a great team of doctors and nurses working around the clock to figure all this out and get him back to full health.”
Although AGT hypes a $1 million U.S. grand prize, it is actually awarded as a 40-year annuity, so most winners of the show choose the “present cash value” option, which is around $300,000 before taxes.
Before competing on AGT, Grimm performed for more than a decade in Las Vegas and released three albums. After winning, he resumed doing live gigs in Vegas and turned to Kickstarter to finance an album.
In 2020, Grimm competed on America's Got Talent: The Champions but was eliminated early on.