The “Duck Commander” Phil Robertson is battling Alzheimer’s and a blood disease, his family said on Friday.
Robertson’s sons, Al and Jase, made the announcement in an episode of “Unashamed with the Robertson Family,” a podcast dedicated to sharing the Christian faith.
Robertson is a renowned duck hunter, businessman, reality television star and outspoken follower of Jesus.
“Phil’s not doing well,” Jase said. “According to the doctors, they’re sure that he has some sort of blood disease that’s causing all kinds of problems.”
Phil has had the condition for a few years but it’s recently “gotten a lot worse,” Al added.
“It’s like accelerated, and it’s causing problems with his entire body, and he has early stages of Alzheimer’s,” Jase said. “So, if you put those things together, he’s just not doing well. He’s really struggling.”
Robertson would like to return to the podcast, but his condition makes it unlikely for the 78-year-old, Jase said.
“I’m like ‘Phil, you can barely walk around without you know, crying out in pain,’ and I’m like ‘You know, your memory is not what it once was,” Jase said.
Do you respect the stand for Jesus that Phil has taken for all these years?
Short of a “supernatural intervention,” family doctors said there is nothing to be done to cure the degenerative disease, Jase said.
Robertson was born and raised in Vivian, Louisiana, according to duckcommander.com.
He married Kay Robertson in 1966 and had four sons: Al, Jase, Willie and Jep.
After whittling “a better duck call than any on the market” and selling $8,000 worth his first year, Robertson founded the Duck Commander Company in 1973.
The company is still family-owned and operated today.
Robertson, along with his family, would later star in the hit A&E television show “Duck Dynasty,” which ran from 2012 to 2017.
In the mid-seventies, Robertson turned his life over to the Lord.
All we can do is aspire to be like Jesus. We stumble, and he’s there to lift us up.
Watch more of our discussion about surrender on episode 60 of our @BlazeTV @theblaze Unashamed podcast, always free on YouTube & everywhere you get your podcasts.https://t.co/mxfSCbYd71 pic.twitter.com/homoC4StXu
— Phil Robertson (@DuckCommanderPR) March 9, 2020
Known across the country for his strong faith in Jesus, Robertson is invited to speak at hundreds of churches and organizations every year to share his testimony.
“None of us have ever reached the part where our Lord himself was,” Robertson said in an “Unashamed” episode. “All we can do is aspire to be like Him the best we can, as we go, stumbling along as we do. And he’s there to lift us up — we just keep going.”
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