Glen Campbell has been suffering from a rapidly declining Alzheimer’s condition, and now his wife Kim is defending her decision to place the singer in a full-time care facility.
Kim Campbell decided earlier this year to move her husband from the family’s home in Tennessee, which drew criticism from Glen’s oldest daughter, Debby. But Kim said she only had his best interests — and the advice of doctors — in mind.
“It is crushingly sad to see him afflicted with Alzheimer’s but indulging those feelings does not help him,” Campbell wrote to The Associated Press , adding, “I am his wife and no one wants him home more than me but I must do what is in his best interest.”
After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011, Glen Campbell enjoyed a last hurrah of his career. He issued two albums and went on a farewell tour, but soon after the condition worsened to the point that he struggled to recognize family members.
“He does recognize me, and it comes and goes,” Debby Campbell told Country Weekly magazine. “He always knows that I’m a loved one, but whether I’m his daughter or his sister, sometimes he struggles.”
The deterioration of Glen’s health has been particularly difficult on Debby. She has objected publicly to his care, saying that family members in Nashville were not spending enough time with him.
But Kim Campbell said she spends every day with her husband of 32 years, and also organizes activities to keep his days as active as possible.
“He has longtime friends here in Nashville who come to play music for him and give him hugs,” Kim Campbell said. “He has activities and therapies to stimulate him and help him experience daily moments of success. His life is filled with love and laughter and he is being cared for round the clock by people who specialize in Alzheimer’s care and happen to adore him.”
Glen Campbell has released more than 70 albums across his career, winning four Grammy awards in both the country and pop categories and gaining induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Earlier this year, he received the inaugural Glen Campbell Courage Award at an Alzheimer’s Association event in California.
