Phil Robertson, the head of the “Duck Dynasty” family has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Robertson family announced his diagnosis during the latest episode of the podcast “Unashamed with The Robertson Family,” TMZ reported.

The disease is in the early stages, People magazine reported.

In addition to the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Jase Robertson said the patriarch also has a blood disease and that his health concerns have left Phil Robertson struggling with Jase saying that Phil cannot walk without tremendous pain.

“We’re trying to do a lot of things to figure out how to make him more comfortable and maybe help with his memory,” Jase Robertson said, according to People magazine. “We’ve got a team of doctors and then we have another set of doctors who are looking at all the test and their all in agreement that there’s no curing what he has. And so you know, what do you do? We’re trying to make him a little more comfortable.”

Phil Robertson, 78, founded the Duck Commander company which spawned the television show “Duck Dynasty,” which aired from 2012 to 2017.

According to the company’s website, he was born and raised in Vivian, Louisiana, and was one of seven children. Phil Robertson was a high school athlete in football, baseball and track, allowing him to attend Louisiana Tech University. He was the first-string quarterback, ahead of future Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw.

“Terry went for the bucks, and I chased after the ducks,” the Duck Commander founder said.

Instead, Phil Robertson received his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Master’s in Education and was a school teacher for several years before giving up his career for one that included hunting and fishing.

He started making duck calls when he wasn’t happy with the ones he found in stores. His Duck Commander calls sold $8,000 worth in the first year. He received a patent for the call in 1973 and he formed his company where family members assembled, packaged and shipped his calls.

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