Dr. Mehmet Oz is opening up about his mother, Suna Oz, and her battle with Alzheimer’s.
In an interview with Maria Shriver — who has been an advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness after her late father was diagnosed in 2003 — on The Dr. Oz Show, the 59-year-old explains missing signs for his own mothers’ early diagnosis.
Related: Gene Wilder’s Family Reveals He Quietly Suffered From Alzheimer’s Disease
On Monday’s episode, Oz emotionally explains the journey he’s on with his 81-year-old mother:
“It’s a chameleon of a disease. It’s slippery. It’s like a snake in the grass, you sort of see the grass moving but you can’t quite tell what it is, and you don’t want to admit it because it’s too painful. The idea that you would lose — which is how I feel now — that I’m gonna lose my mom twice. She’s already disappearing, wisps of her memories are evaporating in front of me.”
He continued, explaining the tremendous guilt he is currently processing for being a celebrated doctor and still not recognizing the signs earlier on:
“I love my mom dearly. I am here because of her… And I blamed myself because I realized that if I had found it earlier, it could have helped certainly delay… the clues were there.”
Ch-ch-check out more of Dr. Oz’s conversation with Maria (below):
In a lengthy Instagram post on Monday, he explained more of the pain he’s currently experiencing:
“I recently found out that my mom, Suna, has Alzheimer’s disease. Hearing the official diagnosis was devastating. But just as painful for me was the realization that the signs were there all along — I had just been overlooking them.”
When my mom’s stubbornness increased, I simply blamed it on her getting older. My sister noticed she started doing her makeup differently for the first time in 60 years, but kept it to herself. When my mom started giving some of her belongings away to people she barely knew, I thought she was just trying to lighten her load following my father’s passing. But these seemingly subtle changes were in fact the first indicators of Alzheimer’s.
It was painful to admit that my mother’s health was declining, but doing so allowed us to get her help as soon as possible. You have the power to speak up and say something if you suspect any of the above symptoms in a loved one. Doing so may be uncomfortable, but it just might help slow down the Alzheimer’s progression in someone you love. Visit the link in my bio to read my mom’s story, and to learn the 6 early symptoms you should never ignore.”
In a second post on Monday, he shared those six signs for followers to look out for if they believe a loved one could also have the disease:
We’re sending our thoughts to Dr. Oz’s family!
[Image via Dr.Oz/YouTube/Instagram.]
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