Long time Twin Cities broadcaster Tom Barnard is sharing his story after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
"I used to remember everything. I mean, it was just, and maybe that's part of the problem, that I packed a whole bunch of stuff up there in a very small closet or something," Barnard told WCCO's Chad Hartman Tuesday.
Barnard is very open about his recent diagnosis, which he announced on his podcast and credits his wife Kathryn for detecting.
He also gives her credit for then finding a treatment center in Florida, where he's already seeing results.
"It's not a great memory yet, but it's better," he adds.
Barnard also talked about his journey in the record industry, voiceover work, and of course on the radio, especially KQRS where he spent the majority of his career - and he talked about gratitude for his life.
"I'm 74-years old. 74 and a half," he joked. "The average American male only lives to be about 76, so I'm only two years shy of that. And I'm gonna make that for sure. I mean, I'm just grateful for it all."
So far, Barnard says he is pretty self-sufficient and still dealing with a “mild” stage of Alzheimer’s.
"Phenomenally well. I am in a really, really good frame of mind," Barnard told Hartman, who he called a 40-year friend.
Barnard also reminiscing about Hartman's father, Sid, recalling a time where they met for lunch at the famous Lincoln Del restaurant in St. Louis Park, when Barnard took KISS bassist and singer Gene Simmons along, saying that Simmons and Sid became "fast friends."
"I'm one of those guys I have to look back and go, from the time I was 11 years old and started working, I've had great jobs," Barnard continued. "I've had so much fun, whether it was in the record industry, voiceover industry, being on the radio. I've been so incredibly lucky."
