In the latest crushing news update out of the Robertson family about family patriarch Phil, his son confirmed in a podcast earlier this month that the “Duck Dynasty” legend was in bad shape with his Alzheimer’s disease.
The news comes as Miss Kay, Phil’s wife, has been slowly recovering from an injury last month.
“Tell you the truth, it hasn’t been good,” Jase Robertson, Phil’s son and “Duck Dynasty” co-star, said during his podcast April 3, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
When people ask how his parents are doing, he said he’ll tell it to them straight: “I’m just giving the blunt truth. I’ll say ‘not good,’” Jase said.
He said that he and other Robertsons were making 78-year-old Phil and 77-year-old Kay “comfortable and we’re doing the best we can. So I think that’s just what you do.”
Kay was the worse of the two after a fall and an infection had her in a dangerous place, although Jase said she was on the mend.
“For my mom, it’s been a lot better this past week, because she was really not doing good,” he said.
“She got an infection from a fall, from a cut that had happened earlier…she’s still in the hospital, but [now it’s] more rehab, physically, and trying to get her to eat,” he added. “We were kinda dealing with the fact that maybe this is it.”
“That’s what it seemed like in the moment. It seemed close there. So it was difficult.”
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The injury occurred back in February — and that was, according to Jase, “a horror show.” He said he learned about it before a public speaking engagement.
“I was fixing to get up onstage and I see this picture of my mom, I was like, oh man. I was like, ‘get her to the hospital,’” he said.
Phil, however, now seems to be in worse shape; while “Duck Dynasty: The Revival” is supposedly set to debut sometime this summer, Phil — one of the most visible members of the cast — won’t be returning due to his poor health.
Of course, those familiar with the Robertsons — whose motto is “faith, family and ducks” — know that Phil is a passionate Christian who has spent his career sharing his faith, often at a great cost.
He’s also a man who’s lived through some rough-and-tumble times in his life, coming to the Lord after a separation from his wife in the 1970s.
“My life was spiraling out of control in a hurry,” Phil told the “700 Club” in 2013, according to a report from the Christian Post.
“It’s literally what Jesus said, ‘from darkness to light.’”
That same year, he talked about where his lifestyle had gotten him — and others.
“You can only run sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll so far. The bottom line is what came out of that movement is what you’re now witnessing,” he said.
“They had little innocent names; they called us ‘hippies’ and ‘flower children.’ That movement lured 60 million babies out of their mothers’ wombs. What came out of that are universities that take our children and warp their minds – the ungodliness is literally rampant. All of the diseases that go with immorality, all of that stuff came out of my generation.”
Phil added that his mission involves “try[ing] to make amends, and go forth and tell people about Jesus and what he’s done for us on the cross. I’ve repented, and I’m trying to get my generation to do the same thing.”
He’s done well, and — from the sound of things — he’s running the final leg of a race that will end with many, many eternal rewards.
That doesn’t make it any easier, however. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his wife, and the entire Robertson family during this trying time.
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