Danny Glover’s daughter, Mandisa, noticed something was “going on” with her dad ahead of his Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.
“The history of my dad is that he remembers every single thing back to 1970, what corner he was standing on, who he spoke to, what they spoke about, what color they were wearing, everything,” she told People in an interview published Wednesday.
However, she began noticing in 2022 that “pieces of the story [were] missing” when the actor shared stories “about his parents” she’d heard “over and over” growing up.
“I said, ‘I wonder what’s going on,’” Mandisa, who said her father is now “aware sometimes and then sometimes not,” recalled.
She went on to brand Glover’s dementia battle “depressing,” saying, “It’s a change in the core of who you think you are or don’t think you are.”
The experience has been “very hard” for Mandisa, who tries to “just … live the day for what it is.”
Glover shared his own struggles to reconcile with his health battle, saying he has had to” acknowledge that it’s happening to you and at the same time that there are millions of people suffering from it.”
The Grammy nominee added, “I’m still not accepting in my mind all parts of it. There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff. And there are moments I’ll never forget.
“I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life,” he continued, declaring he has “work to do.”
As for the message Glover wants to share with the public, he said, “I still have my daughter, I have friends. I want to just say, your life continues.”
Glover announced his diagnosis, which he received in 2023, during a “Today” show segment with Lester Holt on Wednesday morning.
While he can “live with it in a sense,” the “Lethal Weapon” star noted, “I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing.”
The Emmy nominee added that his family has “absolutely … got [his] back.”
Mandisa took part in that sitdown as well, highlighting how “very important” it is for her dad to take “control of his own narrative, of his own life story.”
She gushed, “That’s really important. And the time is now. What better time but now for him to speak for himself? It’s important because people ask questions sometimes, and I don’t want to be a dishonest person and say, ‘Oh, yeah, everything is all right. It’s all great.’”
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