WASHINGTON — "Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his family confirmed on their "Unashamed" podcast.
During an episode that aired on Friday, Dec. 6, Robertson's son Jase revealed that his father, who is 78, is struggling with several health issues.
"Phil's not doing well. I think I spoke on the 1000th podcast, we were trying to figure out the diagnosis, but according to the doctors, they're sure he has some sort of blood disease causing all kinds of problems," Jase said on the podcast. "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 continued. "He's really struggling."
According to Al Robertson, the 'Duck Dynasty' patriarch has had the blood disease for a couple years, but it has recently worsened.
Jase added that doctors told the family that 'there's no curing' what Phil has and that they're working to make him more comfortable amid the health struggles.
But despite the health issues, Jase said Phil has been adamant about returning to the family's podcast and "misses it."
"He keeps saying 'I'm going to get back to the podcast,' and 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. "So he is literally unable to — I think he would agree — to just sit down and have a conversation,"
The Robertson family rose to fame after Phil starred on the A&E show "Duck Dynasty" from 2012 to 2017.
