The legendary zookeeper Jack Hanna, who has made appearances on Good Morning America and David Letterman’s late-night shows, is facing an advanced form of Alzheimer’s disease.

Suzi, Hanna’s wife, went into great detail about her husband’s health problems in a column that appeared in The Columbus Dispatch on Wednesday.

Hanna, 76, who oversaw the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium from 1978 to 1992, received his initial Alzheimer’s diagnosis in October 2019. According to his family, Suzi and his daughters Kathaleen, Suzanne, and Julie, his illness has progressed from mild to advanced.

Hanna’s family members claim that he is currently only able to recall his wife of 54 years, Suzi, his dog Brassy, and his oldest daughter Kathaleen.

Suzi told the newspaper, “The Jack people knew isn’t here anymore, but pieces of my husband are.” “And I’m going to keep them for as long as I can,” she added.

He suddenly ceased remembering who I was in every sense, according to his daughter Suzanne. dad had no idea I was his daughter, whether it was in person or over the phone, I said, adding that “I think it’s because he didn’t see me as much because I got married so young and I moved away.”

Suzi stated that Hanna’s daily regimen consists of taking her pills and going on a two-mile walk with her.

She declared, “I want to hang on to these walks as long as I can.” “I recall the day when everything got underway.” When the doctor first revealed what it was. Since then, I’ve only tried to hold onto Jack’s fragments.

My husband is still there someplace,” she claimed to the publication. The parts of him that made me and the rest of the world fall in love with him are still there, those wonderful, compassionate moments.

It has been “really hard some days,” according to Suzi, to take care of her husband, but “he took care of me all those years, so it’s my turn to take care of him.”

As the family worked to keep his Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis a secret, Kathaleen became upset as she spoke of her father’s retirement from the spotlight in 2020.

According to Kathaleen, “He only retired because of the Alzheimer’s.” He felt humiliated by it. He was constantly worried that someone would find out.

Hanna “would have worked until the day he died,” according to Kathaleen.

In order to raise awareness for other families dealing with a comparable circumstance, Kathaleen stated that the family was coming forward regarding Hanna’s condition.

Sharing dad’s tale, Kathaleen told the newspaper, “is more than worth it if it helps even one other family.” He dedicated his life to assisting everyone he could.

He is continuously acting in this manner even though he will never know or understand it.

When their daughters can’t be present, Suzi said she avoids depending on home health care professionals.

I simply want it to be your dad and I for as long as I can, she claimed she told her kids. We only have the river, the sun, Brassy, and our walks left.

Hanna’s daughters revealed the Alzheimer’s diagnosis in a statement sent to the Columbus Zoo’s social media in April 2021.

His daughters stated that “his condition has deteriorated much more quickly in the last few months than any of us could have anticipated.” “Unfortunately, Dad is no longer able to engage in public life as he used to, where people all over the world watched, learned from, and laughed with him.”

Even though dad’s health has rapidly declined, we can promise you that his excellent sense of humor is still evident. He still dresses in khakis at home, yes.

The ‘Jungle Jack’-nicknamed Hanna, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, has shared his knowledge and brought exotic animals onto a number of shows, most notably Letterman’s 93 times.

In addition to 68 episodes of the CBS Late Show with David Letterman from 1993 to 2015, he made appearances on 25 episodes of NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman from 1985 to 1993.

Additionally, from 1990 to 2019, he contributed his knowledge to 39 episodes of ABC’s Good Morning America.

Additionally, Hanna appeared on chat shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Piers Morgan Live, Maury, and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

He appeared in 156 episodes of Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown from 2011 to 2020 and 162 episodes of Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild from 2007 to 2020. He also had his own syndicated shows.