then i had five more operations on my hand. >> reporter: janis hid his condition, but eventually it became tooch to bear. at a white house event in 1984, janis finally revealed everything. >> the disease is still with me. i have it, but it does not have me. >> reporter: the moment was at first cathartic, but then janis became did depressed. for a year he refused to play. janis' wife, whose father is the actor gary cooper, asked him to compose a piece for a documentary about his father. it was that piece that brought him back. >> i went back to playing. i can still play, and this is what i want to show people. i have been playing with this all my life. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting.