Billy Joel and family celebrate 'extra special' Father's Day amid health challenges

Billy Joel celebrated an "extra special" Father’s Day with his family this past Sunday, according to a social media post from his wife, Alexis Roderick Joel.

"This Father’s Day is extra special. We are always grateful and thankful but this year really reminded us how lucky we are to have you," Roderick Joel said in a post that accompanied a photo of her husband, 76, sporting sunglasses and a dark T-shirt. "We are so blessed to have such a strong, determined man in our lives."

The singer’s health became an issue this year after his unexpected fall during a performance at Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Area in February. The next month, Billy Joel postponed eight concerts, citing an unspecified "medical condition." On May 23, he canceled all upcoming shows, citing a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus, a rare brain disorder that was causing "problems with hearing, vision, and balance."

Since then, the singer has been off the stage but not entirely out of the headlines. Joel’s wife told Newsday in April that the singer was "doing well." Earlier this month, Howard Stern said on his SiriusXM show that he had met with Joel, who asked him to tell fans, "I’m not dying." And although the singer did not attend the June 4 premiere of "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" at the Tribeca Festival, the documentary made news for its coverage of lesser-known aspects of Joel’s life, including his previous suicide attempts. (The two-part film will air July 18 and 25 on HBO.)

For Father’s Day, Joel's wife posted several photos of the singer with his family. One shows the couple posing with their two daughters — Della, 9, and Remy, 7 — in front of what looks like a prehistoric elephant at a museum. Another shows the dad and his girls wearing winter coats and standing in a field covered with fresh snow, and yet another captures Joel sitting in a leather chair with Remy sprawled on his lap and Della leaning over him. The final snapshot is of the singer and his wife riding in a car.

"You are a wonderful support for us and we only hope we can be the same for you," Roderick Joel wrote to her husband. "We love you and know you will be rocking out next year."

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com