Disabled Papas: Terzo
It's Disability Pride month! In honour of that, I've decided to highlight how our beloved fake Satanic popes are disabled, next up is our beautiful clumsy man, aka Papa Emeritus the Third.
Clumsiness & Coordination Issues:
Terzo is known for many things, including falling down somwhat frequently while performing on stage; at least three times, he has lost his balance and fallen as a result. At a ritual during the October 2015 Beach Goth event, he attempted to kick a beach ball that had been tossed onto the stage by the audience, missed, lost his balance and then fell (and sat up and kept singing without missing a beat, like a professional). During another ritual in Herning, Denmark in 2016, he lost his balance and fell yet again, this time into an open pit on the stage, and was seriously injured (though kept performing, once again, like a professional); this incident is not entirely the fault of his lack of balance, however, as that pit was supposed to be closed. He lost his balance and fell on stage yet again during a ritual in Leeds, England in 2017, and joked about it the next day at a ritual in Glasgow, Scotland. He also seems to occasionally lose his balance while sitting down, as seen during a ritual in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, in September 2016. Though he loses his balance frequently, he doesn't always fall and in fact sometimes manages to catch himself and regain his balance, as seen during a ritual in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, in April 2016.
These balance issues are a sign of bad proprioception, which is the body's ability to sense where it is in relation to one's environment, and how it (the body) is moving; symptoms of bad proprioception are uncoordinated movement (such as difficulty walking straight) and balance issues (leading to falling), both things which Terzo clearly struggles with. Proprioception is a result of one's vision, nervous system, and vestibular system working together, and any of these systems being off even slightly can lead to one's proprioception suffering. Another word for this sort of ailment is ataxia, a problem with bodily coordination; vestibular ataxia is one form of it, and the most likely, which I will expand on in the next section.
TL;DR: Terzo falls because his balance is, medically speaking, shit.
Hearing Issues:
Terzo mentions, more than once, that his hearing isn't very good. During a ritual in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA in September 2016, he says that his hearing is "really, really bad"; he mentions this again during a ritual in Orlando, Florida, in October 2015, saying "My hearing is not what it used to be". He talks about this a few more times, such as during a ritual in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in September 2015 ("My hearing is a little bit skewed and screwed."), and once again at a ritual in San Francisco, California, in October 2015 ("...my hearing is very impaired...").
As mentioned in the previous section, he also has balance issues, and balance issues can be because of dysfunction of the vestibular system (which uses the ears). Because of his inability to hear properly and having balance issues, I think there are two potential options: Meniere's disease and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).
Meniere's disease is an inner ear ailment, which can cause hearing loss and dizzy spells; the dizziness spells (vertigo) can come and go without warning and can last from 20 minutes to 12 hours, and the hearing loss may also be inconsistent at first (though sometimes eventually permanent). There is no singular cause for Meniere's, though being older (between 40 to 60 years old) puts one at higher risk, and we do know Terzo isn't young (which I will expand on in a later section).
Since Meniere's disease can be a risk factor for SNHL, it's decently likely that Terzo has both. SNHL is damage to the inner ear, resulting in sound being unable to reach it, thus hearing loss/difficulty.
While there is no known cure for Meniere's disease, there are treatments for it, as well as for SNHL. Terzo could have been using hearing aids, taking corticosteroids, and/or getting rehabilitation therapy when offstage.
TL;DR: Terzo has bad hearing, and thus bad balance, because his inner ears are wonky. Give that man a hearing aid.
Sight & Breathing Issues:
Terzo, at least once, mentions having vision issues; during a ritual in Phoenix, Arizona in October 2016, he says that he "can't see shit" and that one of his eyes "is bad". This a common sign of aging, however there are other causes, such as macular degeneration, which can occur in only one eye and affect central vision. This seems the most likely, due to it only affecting one eye, and it also being age related. While there is no cure, there are treatments (depending on whether it's dry or wet), including vitamin supplements (vitamin C and E, zinc, copper, lutein, zeaxanthin), anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections, photodynamic therapy, and laser photocoagulation. Terzo could have been seeking either of these treatments.
At least once, Terzo has also mentioned having breathing issues; during a ritual in Denver, Colorado, in October 2015, he said "An old geezer like me have a problem breathing here". Lung function declines gradually at around age 35, which makes breathing more difficult. Indeed, Terzo is old, though mild asthma is also a possibility. There are many potential causes for asthma, so it's impossible to say just how Terzo might have acquired it, though various things (stress, NSAIDs, and physical activity) would be his likely triggers. There are treatments for this, such as inhaled corticosteroids, leukotriene modifiers, combination inhalers, and theophylline for long-term treatment and attack prevention; there are also short-acting beta agonists, anticholinergic agents, as well as oral and intravenous corticosteroids for short-term relief. Terzo could have been taking both long-term attack prevention and short-term relief medications.
TL;DR: Terzo has a bad and eye and he can't breathe super well, so he's probably doing meds about it.
Age:
As referenced in previous sections, Terzo is old, and the man himself admits this. He has also referenced this a few other times, such as during a ritual in Detroit, Michigan in October 2016 ("...we're not as young as we look."), a ritual in Malmö, Sweden in February 2016 ("I am not as young as I look" and "I need a little break"), and during a ritual in Los Angeles, California in October 2016 ("...because I'm not really as young as you think I am." He also says a slur just before this. Oops). Clearly, his age is catching up with him, leaving him a bit less energetic than in his youth, and as mentioned in the previous sections, also causing him some other issues as well.
TL;DR: Terzo is an old fart, and it's showing.
Depression:
In the July 2015 edition of Metallian, Terzo is described as a "frustrated old guy who hates everyone, especially himself", as well as referring to him as having "wounds and darkness"; it seems as though he's not as inwardly jovial as he appears. The man himself references struggling with mental health, even admitting that he isn't always happy or chipper. During a ritual in Denver, Colorado in October 2015, he mentions wanting many things in his life, though recognizing that he can't have everything; he also mentions feeling lonely sometimes and needing company, and says this again at a ritual in Nimes, France, in February 2016. He also mentions, during a ritual in Chicago, Illinois October 2015, craving things, and thinking that having those things will be fulfilling, admitting that he does the same; he also says that "an empty shell is nothing", implying that he himself feels empty at times.
He also doesn't appear to socialize much (feeding into his loneliness, probably), outside of performing at rituals, preferring to keep to himself. In the documentary Ghost: The Devil's Hands, it's said that he shows up to perform, and then he's only seen on stage; this is also said again in a nameless ghoul interview with Loud TV, where it's also stated that he's a "recluse" and "travels on his own". This is said once again in another nameless ghoul interview, with Metal Injection, though he's also described here as "quite nice" and "joyful". So, he doesn't seem to socialize with his ghouls (or anyone) much offstage, if at all, though when he does speak to them he's quite pleasant.
He once had big dreams for the future, for the world, and himself; Bishop Necropolitus Cracoviensis (aka Zbigniew M. Bielak) knew Terzo back when he was a Cardinal, and describes some of the ambitious dreams and goals Terzo once had. The Bishop described Terzo as "focused man of vision" who looked to the future and always kept the needs of his church's people in mind, and dreamed of "utopian metropoles" with large skyscrapers and zeppelins; a man who dreamt of a city called Meliora. As these dreams and ambitions never really came to pass, it would make sense that Terzo would be disappointed in himself for not making all of this happen, and thus having a rough time mentally.
As well, his relationship with his father probably set him up for these sorts of mental struggles. In addition to agreeing to have all three of his children killed off, Papa Nihil is described by Terzo as the "worse fish in the sea", during the Unholy/Unplugged event in Baltimore, Maryland in August 2015; this suggests that Terzo doesn't have the most rosy view of his father, and most likely for good reasons. However, during that same event, in the same speech, Terzo admits that the lesson of the song "If You Have Ghosts" was taught to him by his father, suggesting that Nihil wasn't a terrible father all the time (just most of it).
Fortunately, in a 2015 interview with Alicia Atout, a nameless ghoul speculates that Terzo probably had a "kinder mother" than his predecessor and brother, which probably offset the struggles exacerbated by his father, and instilled the ability to hope and dream into him. However, this clearly wasn't enough to prevent him from falling into depressiveness, as we know.
Luckily, there is treatment for depression, including therapy and antidepressants. Terzo doesn't seem like the type to go to therapy often, though he does seem like the type to accept medication for it. If he indeed chose to take medication for this, there certainly are options. He could have been taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), atypical antidepressants, serotonin modulators, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists. Terzo could have been taking either of these types, though due to each having their own benefits, side effects, drug interactions, and contraindications, it's difficult to say which.
TL;DR: Terzo is depressed and probably taking some sort of meds for it.
TL;DR:
Terzo is clumsy and unbalanced because he has inner ear issues, he can't see because one his eyes is fucked up, he has mild asthma, he's depressed, and he's old. He's probably on a lot of meds, and he's struggling.