Joe Jackson is ''cracking jokes'' following his suspected stroke.

The father of the late Michael Jackson was taken ill on Sunday (26.07.15) in Sao Paulo, Brazil with the latest reports suggesting he suffered three heart attacks as well as the stroke, although he is in good spirits while recovering in hospital.

The 87-year-old star - who was celebrating his birthday when he fell ill - was fitted with a pacemaker following the terrifying incident, when his heart is believed to have stopped for 10 seconds, and is now feeling ''grateful to be alive'' according to a representative, TMZ reports.

Joe had been suffering from temporary blindness after an artery burst behind his eye, but he has since regained his vision and is now in good spirits and has been ''cracking jokes'' in hospital, while his family decide whether to fly him back to the U.S. for further treatment.

However, the latest health care comes as a warning to the showbiz patriarch who has suffered three strokes previously and is being kept under observation at the health facility.

Just hours before his medical emergency over the weekend, his daughter Janet Jackson posted a birthday message to her dad on her Twitter page.

She wrote: ''Wishing my Father, @Joe5Jackson a Happy Birthday.

''I want to tell the world, I love and honor you (sic).''