Chris Hemsworth has been very forthcoming about the health concerns and problems he and his family have been dealing with in the last few years. Now he is opening up about that part of his life.
Keep reading to learn more.
In a new documentary titled A Road Trip to Remember, Chris Hemsworth takes his father on a journey to explore his progressing Alzheimer’s disease. The actor opened up about the family’s experience with the neurodegenerative disease in an interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast.
He talked again about how he had found out on his series Limitless how he had two copies of the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene which signifies a higher likelihood of developing the same diagnosis as his father. However, his dad told the actor not to worry.
When he spoke to Shetty in the podcast while he was at his home in Byron Bay in Australia. The down-under actor said, “I remember vividly that conversation of him sort of telling me not to be concerned about it.”
He continued, “And then about two or three years later, my mom saying to me, ‘I think we’ve got to get dad checked because there are these signs and things I’m concerned about’.”
The 42-year-old Hemsworth shared the first few red flags the family noticed in his father as they grew concerned about his health. These were some of the most common ones when it comes to Alzheimer’s.
“The obvious one memory and slight mood changes and shifts and forgetfulness and so on,” Hemsworth said. He said that the test showed both his parents shared the same genetic indicator for the disease as well. This means all three of their sons, Liam, Luke, and Chris, also have two copies of the disease each.
His father first treated it as ‘no big deal’ but then the Marvel actor decided to actively counter this and began thinking of ‘doing something around brain health’ with his dad.
He decided to share his test results with the world, and his father, Craig Hemsworth, was all in. The duo hoped to spread awareness and ‘shed some light’ on Alzheimer’s. They also reckoned they might learn something about the disease on the way.
“He says it in the documentary, but his biggest concern was being a burden. And that was heartbreaking to hear and consider,” Hemsworth shared, he went on to add, “And I had never even, up until we shot the documentary, I didn’t know even how he felt about it, you know, because I hadn’t asked him.”
The Road Trip documentary went on to become a motorcycle journey where the father and son investigate the disease and take a radical approach to therapy for Alzheimer’s.
The duo travel from Melbourne to the Northern Territories, and they try out extreme reminiscence therapy with help from the University of New South Wales, where they explore and recreate areas and times that were important to Craig in his life.
They use their production budget, and the Hemsworth boys go back to a near-perfect recreation of their first family home. The details they got down included the Point Break posters and jars of Vegemite.
It is believed that people who have Alzheimer’s can benefit from retrieving memories from their past. While there were such moments in the documentary, there were also moments that broke your heart.
When they are looking at their old Melbourne home, Craig asks his son, “Where’s Leonie? She coming?” he said, referring to his wife. He then slips and asks again just a few minutes later, which makes Chris look incredibly concerned.
In the podcast, Hemsworth also shared how he has ‘turned down a lot of things’ so he can spend more time with his dad.
He shared, “I know I’m not going to get 10 years down the track and go, ‘I’m glad I did those extra three or four films.’ I’m going to say, ‘I wish I spent more time with him, and with my mom, and with my brothers, and my wife, my kids, and family, and friends.”
This is such a heartbreaking update. We hope the very best for the Hemsworth family. Share this with anyone who might be interested in this update.
