Owen Wilson Opens Up About Father’s Battle With Alzheimer’s

Hollywood actor and screenwriter Owen Wilson has spoken for the first time about his father having Alzheimer’s disease. The Marley & Me star spoke to the Dallas Morning News about his 74-year-old father’s illness, saying it is ?a rough thing? to watch his father Robert Wilson go through the stages of Alzheimer’s.

?It’s one of those things where if somebody had said 10 years ago, when my dad and I were joking around, having a putting match, that this is the position your dad’s going to be in, where he basically needs 24-hour care, you’d think, ?Gosh, I won’t be able to handle that. That’s just not possible,’??he said about his reaction to hearing his father’s diagnosis.

Wilson’s honesty about how this has all affected his emotions is to be applauded. Watching someone you love go through a disease as cruel as Alzheimer’s can be an ordeal for the strongest of us, but talking about how it makes you feel can help you deal with the stress of watching someone you love change so much. ?You just have to do your best to deal with it. You’ve got no choice but to accept it. And then, you sort of still look for the things to be grateful for,? he said. The Midnight in Paris?actor has spoken of his dad before in interviews and told the Dallas Morning News that ?there just wasn’t a bigger influence? on him growing up. Dallas-based ‘Bob’ Wilson worked in television as a talented producer and no doubt his entertainment background influenced his three sons, Owen, Luke and Andrew, in becoming actors. Owen Wilson’s newest movie is called No Escape?and tells the story of a family who move to a country on the cusp of a violent coup.

Donate to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland here. A mere €10 can help give a carer of someone with Alzheimer’s a much-needed break while €100 will help provide someone with a half day of daycare.

Via Dallas Morning News