"Duck Dynasty" Star and professional hunter, Phil Robertson, has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease. The 78-year-old, who is struggling with an unspecified blood disease, is eager to return to work, although he hasn't appeared recently in the "Unashamed with the Robertson Family" podcast due to his health issues.
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His son, Jase, appeared on the Friday, December 6th episode of the family podcast, "Phil's Diagnosis," and gave an update about his dad's health status. "Phil's not doing well. I think I spoke on the 1000th podcast," Jase Robertson said. "We were trying to figure out the diagnosis, but according to the doctors, they are sure that he has some sort of blood disease causing all kinds of problems."
He stated that the unspecified blood disease is causing "problems with his entire body," and that it is acting fast. However, he also revealed the truth about his dad's Alzheimer's. "And he has early stages of Alzheimer's. So, if you put those things together, he's just not doing well. He's really struggling," Jase said.
Early Alzheimer's disease, known as mild Alzheimer's, features an assortment of symptoms that can become worrisome very fast. According to the National Institute of Aging (NIA), these symptoms are memory loss, poor judgment, anxiety, aggression, thing misplacement, and mood changes, among others.
Dealing With The Diagnosis
According to Jase, Phil Robertson, despite his multiple diagnosed diseases, is eager to get back to work. "I'm like, 'Well Phil, you can barely walk around without crying out in pain, and your memory is not what it once was'," Jase said. "He's like, 'Tell me about it.' So he is literally unable to — I think he would agree — to just sit down and have a conversation."
That said, the Robertson family is prepared to make Phil's life more comfortable moving forward. According to Jase, there appears to be no cure for Phil's multiple diseases. Doctors can slightly treat Alzheimer's disease, but it mostly requires home environment changes and "daily activities" to help patients deal with their changing brain functions, according to NIA.
"We've got a team of doctors and then we have another set of doctors who are looking at all the tests and their all in agreement that there's no curing what he has," Jase said. "And so you know, what do you do? We're trying to make him a little more comfortable."
