>> shep: i'm shepard smith. consider for a moment these four people. the civil rights activist, rosa parks, the movie star, rita hayworth. the arizona senator and republican presidential candidate barry goldwater and the boxing champion, sugar ray robinson. >> ladies and gentlemen, the winner by a technical knockout at 2-points and 4 seconds, and middle weight boxing champion sugar ray robinson! >> shep: sugar ray. all four are american icons. their lives never intersected. yet they all shared one life

altering event. each had alzheimer's and we can find no evidence that they spoke publicly about their disease ever. >> glenn campbell fights alzheimer's, featuring maria shriver with a message from vice president joe biden. >> shep: according to a study, people fear getting alzheimer's more than any other disease except cancer. government researchers say more than 5 million americans now have alzheimer's and 42 million adults care for someone with alzheimer's. awareness is a big key if we're to find a cure. when famous people step forward to talk about the disease, it raises awareness. >> mr. gorbachev, open this gate. [ cheers and applause ] mr. gorbachev, tear down this

wall. >> shep: president ronald reagan not only helped end the cold war, but he also had a sense of humor. >> one of these stories, the one i'm going to tell you, i told to general secretary gorbachev and he laughed. [ laughter ] the story was an american and a russian arguing about their two countries and the american said, look, in my country, i can walk into the oval office. i can pound the president's desk and say, mr. president, i don't like the way you're running our country. and a russian said, i can do that. the american says, you can? he says, yes. i can go into the kremlin, to the general secretary's office, pound his desk and say, mr. general secretary, i don't like the way president reagan's running his country. [ laughter ] >> shep: when doctors diagnosed president reagan with alzheimer's, he wrote a letter to the nation with the help of his wife, nancy. it reads: my fellow americans, i have recently been told that i'm one of the americans who will be afflicted with

alzheimer's disease. we feel it is important to share it with you. in opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness and perhaps encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it. the alzheimer's association reports president reagan was one of the very first public figures ever to speak openly about his battle. his announcement helped remove some of the stigma. >> so as we set up this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, i want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed and especially for you, mr. gore. from my cold dead hands. !! >> shep: president reagan's friend and movie star, charlton heston, was diagnosed in 2002.

and as millions watched, abc's peter jennings interviewed heston and his wife on prime time tv. >> will you tell us how you greeted your husband's medical news? >> i was appalled. i was stunned. i never -- it never occurred to me that there was anything wrong. >> i don't mean for a second to impose my emotions on you, but i think i would really be afraid. >> i probably will be afraid, too, when it gets closer. but i don't feel those things. >> what was the family discussion like? >> teary. >> yeah. she got over it very quickly. it was a matter of moments almost before she said okay. we'll go ahead from there. >> he has always, i gathered,

been extraordinarily reliant on you. >> reliant? are you? >> yes, of course i am. >> oh then you are. >> you're the center of my life. >> they say about alzheimer's, as you know, the problem is not for you. the problem is for all those around you. >> yes, i'm afraid that's true. >> so what do you need to know as you go forward? >> how long and how well i can sustain my condition as it is now and when it stops being that, my life will change beyond a certain point, my life will be over. but i know that. >> shep: the late charlton heston with the late peter jennings. that interview stunned a lot of folks. but it also helped push alzheimer's into the open. you couldn't ignore the inevitability of this disease and if charlton hessen and his wife could talk about it, you could, too. the national academy of recording arts and sciences honored the legendary glenn

campbell who is also talking now, he got a lifetime achievement award. >> last year it was announced he was facing alzheimer's disease and he would cap his brilliant career with one more album and a farewell tour. tonight we celebrate glenn campbell's musical impact on our world with the help of the band perry, blake shelton and because he's always shown us how it is done, the rhinestone cowboy himself. ♪ i'm going to be where the lights are shining on me ♪ ♪ let's hear it all ♪ like a rhinestone cowboy ♪ oh, yeah ♪ riding out on a horse in a star spangled rodeo ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ like a rhinestone cowboy ♪ getting cards and letters from people i don't even know ♪ ♪ . >> shep: when glenn campbell was in his 20s, he moved to los angeles to pursue his love for music and became a member of a

group of studio musicians called the wrecking crew. they recorded with tap -- top artists. in 1967, his solo career took off with "by the time i get to phoenix." ♪ by the time i get to phoenix ♪ she'll be rising ♪ . >> shep: it won him four grammys that year and he soon began hosting his own variety show, the glenn campbell good time hour. ♪ oh, it's crying time again ♪ you're going to leave me ♪ . >> shep: the show ran for four years, making him a household name and afterwards, the hits just kept coming. ♪ ♪ . ♪ like a rhinestone cowboy ♪ and for hours it's on my mind ♪ ♪ . >> shep: he would eventually record 21 top 40 hits and sell

more than 45 million records. enough to make him one of the biggest names in all of music. ♪ galveston oh, galveston ♪ . >> shep: the great glenn campbell. he's chosen to reveal his fight with alzheimer's by taking his message on the road and performing for millions of concert goers. coming up, glenn campbell's good-bye tour. across the golden state,

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you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. if lipitor has been working for you, stay with it. don't wait. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month. get your lipitor co-pay card today at lipitor.com. >> shep: glenn campbell, taking his fight with alzheimer's on a good-bye tour, playing nearly 70 shows within ten months. a lot of folks want to know how he does it. how does he perform concerts while dealing with alzheimer's? we took our cameras to one of his shows in philadelphia to

find out. ♪ it's destroying the world ♪ ♪ that you're moving on the back roads by the rivers of my memories ♪ ♪ keeps you ever gentle on my mind ♪ >> shep: during the show, glenn campbell is assisted by several teleprompters located around the stage. it's clear he relies on them to help him through the concert. also there to give him a hand, his daughter, ashley. ♪ . >> he looks at me a lot on stage, kind of for support. so i'll just smile at him, let him know i'm right there for him. i think that helps him a lot. >> shep: ashley says it was rough when she first learned her father had alzheimer's.

>> it was pretty heavy moment, but he had been showing signs of it for years and years. so it wasn't a complete shock. i started noticing it in high school. my friends noticed it, too. like he would come in to the movie room and ask what we're watching and then a couple minutes later, come back in and ask the same question. and repeat that several times. we knew something was up. >> shep: she says you can sometimes see the effects of his alzheimer's on stage. >> i have no -- what do you call that stuff? they ain't got me anything to go by. i don't even know what's coming up next. >> a lot of times it's just like who wrote this song? or what key is this in? what song are we doing? >> this is e flat? don't mess with me. >> shep: glenn's son, shannon, also performs on stage with him each night.

>> he will accidentally take mine or my sister's mikes or, like, he'll put his guitars down in weird places on the stage 'cause he can't find his stand. >> shep: but something that also shows up on stage is the love glenn has for his kids. ♪ . >> i want to introduce my daughter ashley, who wants to challenge me to a duel. >> shep: a special place in his heart that he holds for his daughter, ashley. >> i'm his baby girl. ♪ >> it makes me very much more appreciative of the time i have with him. it makes me want to spend more quality time with him and be a

presence in his life and just trying to make his time here happier. >> shep: there are several moments of confusion, but for a majority of the cop set, glenn exhibits amazing clarity. his children say they see it the most when he plays the instrument he's always loved. the guitar. ♪ >> i don't know where he gets it. his fingers still know what they're doing so well. ♪ >> shep: glenn's family says playing music has always brought him happiness. when ashley is asked what she

likes most about seeing her dad perform, her answer is simple. >> i like his joy. his joy for life. ♪ like a rhinestone cowboy ♪ riding out on a horse in a star spangled rodeo ♪ galveston oh, galveston ♪ ♪ i still hear your sea winds blowing ♪ ♪ i get to phoenix ♪ she'lling rising ♪ southern nights ♪ have you ever felt those southern nights ♪ ♪ and i'm doing fine

>> shep: but still, underlying everything is glenn campbell's disease. >> he's very much aware of it, but doesn't like to talk about it so much. so maybe sometimes he might even pretend that he forgot he had it, you know. i think he knows deep down and it scares him. >> shep: glenn's new song "a better place," speaks powerfully of his current condition. he plays it last in the concert. ♪ i've lived and i have loved ♪ sometimes it's such a cross ♪ one thing i know

♪ this old world -- there is ♪ there is a place ♪ but wait you'll see ♪ . >> i think the hardest thing for me will be seeing him lose who he was and who he is. seeing him robbed of his facilities, you know. i can't imagine what that would be like. ♪ better place ♪ thank you, god bless. you're wonderful. >> shep: next, glenn campbell and his wife, kim, share what it's like to deal with alzheimer's every single day. >> just little things with i think people that have alzheimer's, you have to start being aware of that you kind of need to keep your eyes out just in case. >> i don't have alzheimer's. >> you got part-timers, right?

>> part-time. >> yeah. >> i only use it when i need it

>> shep: we sat down with glenn campbell and his wife, kim, before one of his concerts in september of last year. they told us how this journey of alzheimer's began for them. and what life is like now. >> we saw signs of it, i think all the way back to 2003 when he had the drunk driving incident. he had a relapse 'cause he had quit drinking for many years. but then he started experiencing anxiety, which i think is a symptom of the onset of alzheimer's. and so i think that was his attempt to self-medicine indicate and deal with the

anxiety that he was feeling. that's when we went to betty ford and they did some psychological testing and found that he had some cognitive issues and they sent us to mayo clinic in scottsdale, arizona. and they don't know -- they called it mild cognitive impairment at the time. could have been a dementia brought on by alcoholism. >> shep: after leaving the mayo clinic, glenn and kim returned home to california. >> we just kept on with life. >> kept on with life and, you know, knocked a little bit of sense in my head. >> he quit drink. >> quit drink, yeah. yes, i quit cussing and the whole (bleep (. >> shep: they've had to make adjustments to their lives since the diagnosis. kim took on the role of glenn's primary caretaker. >> we leave little things, like i'll leave the bathroom light on to make sure he can find it in the middle of the night. >> i was wondering where you had that. >> i'm a micro manager. i tell my kids what to do all

the time, too. just a natural thing for me to be a care taker. >> whatever it is, it's amazing. it's like she can read my mind. so that's when i really understood how -- she's a genius. >> shep: kim is by her husband's side almost every moment of each day. >> i make all the doctor appointments and i drive him everywhere now because when you get a diagnosis of alzheimer's, they take away your driver's license. >> shep: glenn asks a lot of questions now. kim's right there, acting as his memory. but she says she sees it as just reminding him of things he happens to forget. >> he looks pretty good for 75. >> 75? >> yeah. ♪ . >> shep: kim says keeping his music career going has been a good coping mechanism for glenn. >> glenn really fluctuates. sometimes we have really bad days and lately he's been in a

really good place and we've been doing so much music lately, i can't help but think that music had something to do with it. >> maybe. >> music is very healing. >> gospel isn't bad. >> shep: one thing that hasn't changed is glenn campbell's recognition of his wife's devotion. >> i didn't know this in front, but i learned to really -- i realize what a help that she has been to me. and the kids. she don't take anything off of the kids. there is a verse in the bible f a man find eth a good wife, he findeth a good thing. i found a good thing. >> shep: we saw glenn four months later to see how he was doing since the first time we talked and how the tour has been going. >> it's just wonderful. it really is. it's all i can say about it. the kids -- i got my kids now,

they're my musicians. it's just wonderful. to have the kids out there playing. you don't feel lonely. and when kim goes with me, we all go as a family. >> it's going great. having a wonderful time. >> when you got family with you, it makes a big difference. you're not going to the pub drinking or -- you're with them, you know. go tell them when to shut up. >> i like this song. >> shep: seems when glenn campbell is putting everything into performing, his alzheimer's just fades into the background a bit. >> i think he's doing better now than he was last summer. >> i feel more like i do now than i did last week. i don't really notice it. i think they must have made this up or something, you know. you have this now, so you have to do this.

well, i refuse to do that. >> shep: the country music star is refuse to go let the disease get him down. >> i don't pay any attention to it. like when the devil comes knocking on your door, don't pay any attention to him. >> i think that in recent times we've put a label on alzheimer's, but before that, it was just oh, grandpa is getting forgetful or senile and people took it in stride and laugh about it and supported each other and that's kind of the way we're trying to approach it is just part of life. >> shep: kim says she still believes they're doing good by keeping him playing night after night. >> the doctors keep telling us, we're doing all the right things, that the best thing we can do is to keep him active doing what he's always done and what he loves to do to have a sense of humor and -- >> they're running me -- >> stress is not good. that can make him confused. >> they're keeping me busy so i don't get in any trouble.

>> thank you. >> shep: the good-bye tour will wrap up in june. but glenn campbell says he won't be done when it's over. >> i like to play. i like to sing. that's probably what i do best. picking cotton wasn't it. chopping corn, that wasn't my favorite thing to to do. my favorite thing to do was play guitar. >> shep: he says he hopes along the way, he has helped teach lessons to his kids and his fans. >> you know, lying -- no lying, no bs. be a nice person. don't hurt other people's feelings -- i've hurt people's feelings. i regreeted it. you got to have something that you live for, that you really want to live. we have -- we thank god for our blessings.

>> shep: of course, alzheimer's patients aren't the only ones who suffer because of the disease. ahead, the impact it has on family and friends. >> whole different look in the eyes. whole different look. you know, it really -- it's said often and it's true, it really is the long, campbell fighting

alzheimer's >> shep: alzheimer's not only affects those who are diagnosed with it, it also creates dramatic and really frightening changes in the lives of partners who suddenly find themselves in the roles of full time care givers. >> golden years are when you can sit back hopefully and exchange memories. that's the worst part about this disease. there is nobody to exchange

memories with. >> shep: nancy reagan called you. >> yes. almost immediately. >> it was the first call we had. >> yes. >> and she wanted more to talk to you, lydia, than she want to do talk to charles. >> well, of course. >> why? >> well, i think she felt she had more to give me than she would have to give him. >> she says of her own experience with president reagan, that the hard part is not being able to share memories together and that she gets lonely. did she tell you that? >> she didn't in so many words. i asked her, i said, does he know you? and she said no. and there was a lot in that no. >> shep: the late peter jennings from an abc special. of course, alzheimer's takes many forms and it's impossible for care takers to prepare for

an unknown road ahead. tv personality liza given gones mother and grandmother died of alzheimer's, she's with us now. you say -- thank you so muchment you say alzheimer's is a slow -- death in slow motion. tell us what you've experienced. >> when you are watching someone you love so much unravel memory by memory, you have to come to grips with who you are and what is our life all about anyway? we're our collective experiences, who we love and where we go and how we spend our time and when that is erased, it calls into question all of your beliefs about life and death. >> shep: when you found out your mother had alzheimer's, how did you process that in the beginning? what was your primary feeling? >> this is nobody's happily ever after. nobody dreams of i'm going to grow up and be the best care giver to my husband or my wife or my mom or dad. it's a scratch in your domestic

bliss or in your life track certainly, and i went through what everyone went through. i denied it. i thought -- i really thought, i'm going to work hard. i'm going to meet more people. i'm going to do more research. i'm going to help find something to fix mom 'cause she's too strong to succumb to this. i don't live my life in regrets, but i wish i had been more present earlier with my mom because she knew where she was headed and she saw me spinning and churning and she would put her head on the pillow every night i think with incredible courage having seen her mother disappear with this same disease and she walked that path with tremendous dignity. >> shep: your book is called "take your oxygen first" for people who aren't so intimately aware of this situation, help us understand what that means. >> it means just what they tell you on an airplane. before you assist other people, take your oxygen first. family care givers are like

first responders. the house is burning down, there is a tragedy happening, everybody is running. the care givers have to go towards the problem. these are the sons and daughters and husbands and wives and friends who show up every day for duty. they don't get thanks and validation. they don't even know if they're making it better. there is a lot of guilt, a lot of resentment, a lot of dashed hopes and feelings of hopelessness. so this is, i think, the most difficult of all care giving challenges and care giving is i think a noble pursuit for all chronic illness and disease. for alzheimer's and dementia, you really have to make sure you nourish yourself, mind, body, soul and spirit, or -- 'cause you're the hinge for all of it. the care giver is the glue and if that care giver unravels, the entire family can deplete. >> shep: so much responsibility. i watched glenn campbell on stage and just to see him up there performing, it feels to me

like that must take enormous courage. is that the sort of courage you think you could muster some day, to get out there and open yourself up to that? >> what i love about glenn and his wife, they are taking it one day at a time. that's really all we can do. they stay focused on what is possible. when you say glenn take that -- because our emotional dna is so tied to music, he is most comfortable, i would assume, there performing. that goes way back into the deepest depths of his memory and his core and that takes over. you know, i saw the same thing with my mom when she had sing songs from her girlhood. it's really beautiful. >> shep: an inspiration to care givers. the book is "take your oxygen first" and it makes a lot of sense. thank you so much. >> thank you. my pleasure. >> shep: alzheimer's can be difficult to discuss. it can be embarrassing and shocking and abrupt.

one day you and your loved one are living a perfectly normal life and the next, your partner is virtually gone, replaced by somebody who sits, stand, sleeps and walks next to you like always, but having no idea who you are. >> the age of 93, he still goes to mass every day. and believe it or not, he still remembers the hail mary. but he doesn't remember me. maria. i'd be lying if i didn't admit that still makes me cry. but even so in the past six years, i have gone from hopelessness to hope. >> shep: maria shriver's father, sergeant shriver, suffered from alzheimer's. next, she joins us to share how she dealt with that diagnosis. hello, how can i deliver world-class service

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living with her father, changed maria shriver's world. the only way she knows to go with adversity is go 110%. the process that your father had this disease. how did you get through the early days? >> i think alzheimer's is a mind-blowing disease. it blows the mind but the entire family surrounding your loved

one. you go through a whole series of emotions, in family, people go through it in different ways. a spouse or a child has their journey through it. i decided to write a book about it to explain it to myself and explain it to my siblings and our whole family. that helped me and it catapulted me in the world of advocacy on behalf of alzheimer's. >> shep: what do you say to families who are confronting this? >> there is a lot of hope out there. there is a lot of support out there. when my dad was diagnosed in 2003 there wasn't. i wanted to be television special and nobody would touch it. i think we're living in a very different world for alzheimer's

today. people are more savvy about it. i think there is a lot more that needs to be done. we finally has a president that has put this front and center. we are living in a very different world. the in the world of alzheimer's is changing almost monthly more and more people are being diagnosed. more and more people signing up for clinic trials. i tell people there is a lot of hope and support, people want to bring you into an a family and help you on the journey. >> shep: i know it changes your family. i understand that watching your children with your father gave you some insight. what was it? >> they were much more patient, they were much more realistic. they were much more in the moment. when my dad would say, what is your name. who are you? they found a way making light of it.

i remember the dad, most smartest man i had ever seen, it was difficult for me he didn't know who i was or he kent know what a fork was when he had such a sharp mind. i tried, as the disease progressed, my brothers and i took it as a learning situation for me to get more in the moment. for me to are more accepting and to be more understanding and to try to bring the message of alzheimer's to a larger public which i've tried to do in the last several years. >> shep: i spoke with friends that are dealing with it. they tell me they learned more about themselves and their families they ever thought they would be able to. about the way they interact and what their deep feelings are, has that happened to you? >> oh, yeah. one thing, i have four brothers. one thing we did well, we

instituted a monthly phone call with the five of us. every month we would get on the phone and as my father got sicker, three times a month and every two weeks and we talked about how we felt about it. who was in charge of his care. what were the medication, who was on deck, what was the procedure. we talked about everything. so when it got towards the end, we were really in a rhythm we had started when my mom got sick. i think that was really great thing that we did. i think it's something that other people told me, when i talked about it they instituted and it help them. because siblings communicate through their parents and parents get sick and you are having to deal with siblings. all sorts of stuff from childhood come out and you are dealing with a difficult situation. the sooner you can talk to your

siblings about money, about living wills, about clinical trials and watching your mother and father, who is closest, who wants to quarterback the medical care, the better you are off as a family. >> shep: the shriver report is a step in direction. can you tell us what we can learn? >> the shriver report focused on women and alzheimer's. they are primary caretakers and they are diagnosed at a higher rate than men. we have millions of women that are primary bread winners in american families. they are caring for loved ones with alzheimer's. women are under siege in this society we are in in business and government. families need to understand how they are being pulled in so many

directions, and support them, whether they tax credits, raising the bar in terms of funding, political leaders need to know they will be elected by the female vote in this country. women need support in terms of child care or parent care or flexible hours in terms of how they work in society. it seems that nobody was talking about that. the shriver report tried to put that front and center. we did the alzheimer's project on hbo really looking at the science and care giving and diagnosis of alzheimer's. >> shep: you have a website where people can go if they are dealing with alzheimer's and share their stories. what is it you hope people take away from the website? >> what i discovered is that people really want to tell their story. they want a place to feel at home, to feel that there is someplace they can tell their story and others will understand

it. that is something with people with loved ones diagnosed with alzheimer's. everybody has a story and lots of people aren't interested in how to help them and how frustrated you are and how angry you are they got alzheimer's. how you can't find the clinical trial. why doesn't political leaders talk about alzheimer's. why don't we have more money. there is a frustration and need to tell start to. there is a comfort. i'm hoping i can be a resource to people at all different levels of alzheimer's. i hope i can be a map, help people navigate their way through this disease. as one doctor said once you seen one case of alzheimer's, you've seen one case. everybody's journey is different. i hope i can be a guide for

others who are dealing with the situation. >> shep: maria shriver, thank you. >> thank you. >> shep: next, vice president joe biden on why the obama administration is setting aside $106 million to help fight my name is robin. i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantiis proven to help people quit smoking. it reduthe urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking orood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reactioto it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away

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>> shep: president obama recently called for $80 million in alabama research funding and sets another $26 million for families that care for alzheimer's patients. here is a special message from joe banana. >> glen campbell's goodbye tour

is an incredible career. he has worked with elvis presley won nine grammies and included the country hall of fame. not bad one of 12 kids from arkansas. he has been the life of my generation, from 1967 hit, by the time i get to phoenix, ghost on the canvas to the new album. now, he is inspiring in a different way. by sharing his struggle. glen and kim are reminding all those people who are caring for loved ones around the country they aren't alone. for every story like glen millions of families are facing the same question. when should i stop driving? can move mom move back in? what do i do if dad doesn't recognize me? these are some of the hardest

struggles family can ever face? that is why they are trying to find a cure for this disease. last year the president signed an alzheimer's act to create a council that is developing a national plan to fight alzheimer's. last week we announced the national institute of health is going to devote $50 million to alzheimer's research by pinpointing the genes that put people at next. next year we are proposing an increase in funding by $80 million because we want scientists to have the tools they need to fight this devastating disease. as glen finishes out his tour, our prayers with him and his family and every family facing this disease. i promise you, i promise you we will keep fighting to make alzheimer's a thing of the past. i believe we'll cure this disease.

>> shep: vice president banana. we want to thank glen campbell and his wife for taking their fight on the road and rallying us to take a look inside their private battle with this terrible disease. i'm shepard smith. good night.