Blackburn hero Tony Parkes, 70, breaks down over Alzheimer’s diagnosis as his daughter reveals his battle with illness
BLACKBURN ROVERS legend Tony Parkes broke down as his daughter revealed his diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease.
Parkes, 70, made 350 career appearances for Rovers after joining from Buxton in 1970.
He was a player for Blackburn until 1982 but stayed on at Ewood Park in a coaching capacity until 2004 and has been caretaker manager several times.
In an emotional interview with , Natalie Parkes detailed the struggles her dad and their family are now facing.
She said: "Things are a lot different now for my dad. We've had quite a few big changes over the last couple of years.
"It started slowly but it's very apparent now - he recently had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
"It's changed a lot of things for my dad, his independence being the big one. He now no longer feels comfortable doing things by himself. He likes to be with me a lot.
"He looks fine - but it's when you try and have a conversation the words aren't always there, the memories aren't always there.
"It's sad really. We're watching these matches on the TV and he can't always remember all the details like he used to be able to. He used to remember everything, every little thing about his time at Blackburn and his time when Kenny [Dalglish] was there.
"On every away match they used to always be playing practical jokes on each other, normally Alan Shearer would be doing something, making the coach driver eat ridiculous amounts of cream crackers at one stage.
"It's hard now because those memories have gone. It's things like the Hall of Fame, his friends who are trying to keep those memories alive for him and trying not to let everything completely slip away."
Parkes regularly stepped in as caretaker manager between bosses at Ewood Park and was a dedicated servant.
He was controversially shown the door when Mark Hughes arrived in 2004, bringing his own backroom staff.
Parkes confessed it is frustrating when he cannot remember details due to his illness and added: "I like to go on walks, that's my big thing now. We have lovely times."
Charlie Adam was among the many young footballers given a chance by the former midfielder and he tweeted his best wishes.
The Reading man wrote: "So sad to see this great man suffering from Alzheimer’s. He gave me the opportunity to come to @BlackpoolFC.
"He steadied the club at a very tough time. Very good coach and well respected in the game. Keep fighting TONY."
Natalie has taken on the responsibility of looking after her dad since in recent times, giving up her job as a teacher, but is grateful for the support provided from .
The organisation is the world's first charity dedicated to sports reminiscence and physical activities, supporting older people with dementia, depression and loneliness by engaging them in social activities and helping them to recall memories of watching or playing sport.
Natalie continued: "He likes to have his set routine. For my dad it's finding the words.
"I think the memories are still there but he can't always process what's being asked and he can't always respond in the way he wants to.
"He doesn't get angry, he gets upset because he knows what he wants to say, it's very apparent how difficult it is.
"A lot of people are now very aware of Alzheimer's disease but they don't actually realise until they're dealing with it the impact of it. It is horrendous.
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"From the moment you start going down that path, the support is not there in the same way as some of the other big names like cancer.
"We found fabulous support with the Sporting Memories group at Leyland - they've been amazing and go above and beyond for my dad.
"He gets upset. He knows things are different, and he can't always express that.
"For me who's taken on the caring role 24/7 and resigned from my teaching job, he knows it's tough on me. But there's nothing he can do about it - he can't change how he is.
"I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that I lost my dad before Christmas and this Tony Parkes is different.
"He's still got the glimmers there every now and then but it's not the same person I grew up with and as a family that is really tough to deal with."