Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Family Says

Phil Robertson’s family is sharing an update on their patriarch’s health.

On the Friday, Dec. 6 edition of the Unashamed with the Robertson Family podcast, the Duck Dynasty alum’s son, Jase, revealed that his father is in the “early stages” of Alzheimer’s disease.

“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 are sure that he has some sort of blood disease causing all kinds of problems,” he said.

Jase, 55, added that the disease has “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 just not doing well. He’s really struggling,” he added.

PEOPLE reached out to Phil’s representative for comment.

In addition to Jase, Phil, 78, is also a father to sons Al, Jep, and Willie, whom he shares with his wife Kay, known as Miss Kay. Phil is also a father to a daughter named Phyllis.

Jase said that his dad, who is a part of the podcast but did not appear in the episode, wants to return 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.’ 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,” he said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common cause of dementia, include forgetting recent events or conversations. The disease can lead to serious memory loss and affects a person’s ability to do everyday tasks over time, the organization adds.

“We’re trying to do a lot of things to figure out how to make him more comfortable and maybe help with his memory,” said Jase.

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“We’ve got a team of doctors and then we have another set of doctors who are looking at all the test and their all in agreement that there’s no curing what he has. And so you know, what do you do? We’re trying to make him a little more comfortable,” he said.