“Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson’s family gave an update on the family patriarch’s health, a few months after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
On the April 2 episode of the “Unashamed with the Robertson Family” podcast, sons Jase and Al Robertson, and their cousin, Zach Dasher, revealed that Phil is not doing well.
“The No. 1 question I get everywhere I go [is], ‘How’s your dad doing?’ Now, I’m just giving the blunt truth. I say, ‘Not good,'” Jase said.
He added that Phil is now receiving “some professional care.”
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Jase also shared that Zach had recently visited Phil and had a difficult time with Phil’s condition.
“I pulled in when Zach was coming out … and I was like, ‘How’d that go?'” he recalled. “And Zach just lost it, you know, and I kind of realized in that moment when you’re in these battles day by day you kind of compartmentalize everything just so you can deal with it.”
“We’re making him comfortable and we’re doing the best we can. I think that’s just what you do,” Jase said.
Zach also experienced the effects of Alzheimer’s with his own mother. He said that the visit was difficult in part because he hadn’t seen Phil in a while and his decline appeared more intense compared to the day-to-day experience of the immediate family.
“I think when you’re in it like you guys are, you’re seeing the fade. But I hadn’t been around or seen him in a few months. So I come in and it’s like, ‘Whoa,'” he said, comparing it to Si Robertson having a similar experience with Zach’s mom.
“I’ve said this a lot about dementia and Alzheimer’s. But I think anyone in our audience who’s gone through it … this will resonate with them — that we talk a lot about how it steals the memories of the ones who have the disease,” he said.
Zach continued, “But for me, it also steals the memory of the ones caring for the people who have the disease, because you’re seeing this slow progression over time, and it’s just hard to watch.”
“We appreciate the prayers,” Jase said of the outpouring of support from family, friends and fans.
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He first shared the downturn in his father’s health in December, saying on the podcast that Phil has the “early stages of Alzheimer’s.”
“It’s like accelerated, and it’s causing problems with his entire body. And he has early stages of Alzheimer’s. So, if you put those things together, he’s really not doing well. He’s struggling,” Jase said at the time.
Willie Robertson, Phil’s son, also spoke with Fox News Digital by phone at the time and clarified that Phil is “battling a lot of different things right now.”
“He’s got a blood disorder, and then he’s got the mental issues that could be early [on-set] Alzheimer’s … and probably some mini-strokes because of his blood,” Willie explained. “And so, it could be some stroke stuff happening, that has happened. So, we’re still checking on all that. But then he also has a back issue. He’s fractured his back and that’s where the pain’s at. So, he’s kind of battling many different things at the same time.”
On the recent episode of the podcast, Jase also shared that their mother, Miss Kay, has been recovering in the hospital from an infection following a cut she got from a fall.
“We were kind of dealing with the fact that this was it,” he said, but noted that she was improving.
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