As many know, country music legend Glen Campbell suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Today, at 80, he’s in the late stages of the disease and living in a long-term care center near Nashville, where family and friends visit daily.

His wife Kim Campbell and their children cared for him at home for several years after he was diagnosed in 2011. “Things were just getting out of control and crazy,” Kim Campbell said. “I did it as long as I could. It was heart-breaking.”

Kim and Glen Campbell in 2011, the year he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Associated Press/Evan Agostini

The Campbell family’s experience with Alzheimer’s drew attention after the release of “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,” a documentary featuring his final tour in 2012. The film depicts his cognitive problems – from forgetting lyrics on stage to becoming belligerent in private – even as he continues to crack jokes and entertain adoring audiences.

Kim Campbell, who married the singer in 1982 and is mother to three of his eight children, said her husband wanted to share his story to “let the world know what it’s like to live with Alzheimer’s.” But now that he’s declined even more, she said she struggles with how much to reveal.

“I want to protect his dignity, his privacy and his safety. But I also want to educate the public.”

“Physically he’s healthy,” she said. “He walks. He can feed himself.… He has lost his ability to communicate verbally. He doesn’t understand language.… He still has his sense of humor.”

For awhile, Kim Campbell said music was soothing when her husband became agitated. But that no longer works.

“The saying is, ‘You try something and do it until it doesn’t work anymore.’ It’s constant trial and error.”

She urged caregivers to take care of themselves: “You can’t become the second victim of this disease.”

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