Struggling with what to reveal about his condition, the country legend’s wife truly opened up for the first time in a long time about how his battle with Alzheimer’s has progressed.
Glen Campbell, one of America’s beloved country crooners and legendary performer, has been battling Alzheimer’s since he was diagnosed in 2011, but after five years of treatment, he’s entered the later stages of the disease and is currently living at a care-facility close to Nashville.
Campbell’s wife, Kim, opened up to the Portland Press Herald recently, but struggled with deciding what to reveal about his condition and fight against Alzheimer’s.
“Things were just getting out of control and crazy,” his wife says of the time surrounding his diagnosis. “I did it as long as I could. It was heartbreaking.”
“I want to protect his dignity, his privacy and his safety. But I also want to educate the public.”
After his diagnosis, his family began an effort to bring awareness and education to the affects of the disease – not only on the person diagnosed, but their families too. Their battle with Alzheimer’s has become a catalyst for some family members to blaze new trails helping fight against this heartbreaking disease.
Now that Glen has begun to decline further and has entered later stages of Alzheimer’s, she’s struggling to choose what information will help people while she fights for his right to privacy and dignity. She spoke frankly with The Herald, explaining his current state.
“He has lost his ability to communicate verbally,” she reveals. “Physically, he’s healthy. He walks. He can feed himself.”
“He doesn’t understand language…He still has a sense of humor.”
Kim, who has been married to the singer since 1982 and is the mother of three of his children, admits that music used to be a soothing comfort for Glen during times of agitation and upset…but it’s not working anymore. “It’s constant trial and error,” she adds.
It’s terribly heartbreaking to hear of Glen Campbell’s fight with Alzheimer’s and our hearts are with him and his family during this very difficult time.
Watch his daughter, Ashley Campbell, sing her first single below. It’s called “Remembering” and she wrote it about him and the relationship change between them.