Ralph Klein suffering from Dementia.

[Bertuzzied]

This is pretty sad sight for Calgary's best mayor and Alberta's best premier ever.

I wish you the best Ralph!

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/De...223/story.html

Colleen does almost all the talking, because Ralph can’t. The quickest tongue in Canadian politics is being silenced by a progressive form of dementia.
After months of uncertainty — and long delays in seeing specialists — the Kleins learned last Friday that Ralph, 68, suffers from what’s called “frontal temporal dementia, consistent with primary progressive aphasia.”
To the oddly vacant man sitting beside me, that means extreme difficulty in recalling and comprehending words, as well as reading and writing. His speech, once fluid and lightning-fast, is now limited to short words and set phrases.
“Good, good,” he says several times, when asked how he’s doing.
Soon he announces “I’m going to work out,” and heads off to the gym in a cab already ordered by Colleen. On doctor’s orders, she has taken away his car keys.

The high-end consulting jobs and invitations to give national speeches have fallen away. So have friendships they thought were eternal. Colleen says they get virtually no calls from former or current MLAs or ministers.
“When you’re gone, you’re really gone,” she says. “You can almost hear the doors slam. People coming up in politics should be very careful not to let their lives go completely. You’ve got to have something to go back to.”
But she’s ready to look after her husband at home until more intense care becomes essential; and with this condition, it will.
“My biggest concern is about him going into a deep depression because of the frustration. But I haven’t seen any signs of that. It’s almost as if he’s so grateful I’m here to look after him — either that, or he thinks I’m the maid.”
More laughter follows.

Going from Ralph to Farmer Ed was such a huge step backwards.

[gonzo29]

That's very sad to hear, I wish the Kleins the best going forward.

[Dion]

I used to be a volunteer in a care facility and visited people like Ralph. It's very hard on friends and family members to watch a loved one go through this.

I find it sad that people have deserted him. How quickly we learn who the real friends are in our life. Thankfully he has a loving and caring wife that will make sure he well taken care of.

[Rhyme]

I had no love for the man as a politician, but reading that story really got to me. To be isolated from your love ones because you're losing your ability to understand language is awful; to have all of your former colleagues disappear out of your life at the same time only accentuates that pain.

From King Ralph to King Lear.

Best wishes for Klein. May the disease slowdown enough that he and his family can enjoy several more years together.

[Nammer403]

best wishes to him and his familiy

[To Be Quite Honest]

Well that is terrible news. My heart goes out to the family.

On the bright side, if one wanted to investigate all the kickbacks Ralph "allegedly" received over the years he wouldn't be held against his own testimony.

[WilsonFourTwo]

While I doubt he was ever going to serve the public again, I'm sure there were other great things he looked forward to doing.

Thanks for giving the public your best years Premier Klein. It was a life worth living.

[Thor]

So sad, my father has a slower paced dementia which is more about short term memory issues. So sad to see people fade away, my heart goes out to the Kleins, I wouldn't wish dementia on my worst enemy.

Here's hoping for some breakthroughs in medical science, no human should have to suffer any form of degenerative brain disease.

[FlameOn]

Terrible news, his biggest talent taken away from him. Hope the best for him and his family going forward.

[ernie]

We complain a lot about politicians and rightfully so. However, there are those people in politics that even if you don't agree with them or how they do things truly are trying to do what they think is right and best. Love him or hate him, I think Klein was one of those people.

My heart goes out to the Klein family. We had to witness the same thing in my wife's grandmother a couple of years ago. The descent into dementia was rapid.

[killer_carlson]

That's tough news.

Mark me as a guy who has fond memories of Klein as Premier.

That's tough to see. I'm sure he would have had a lot to say about this current federal election campaign.

[SeoulFire]

Argue all you want about the areas that were affected but I am just glad Ralph was there to get this province's **** together when we needed it.

He was a beaut as a leader.

Best wishes going forward.

[T@T]

I was waiting to hear something like this about Ralph, We knew each other fairly well when he was mayor(at least he knew me by my first name anyway) and I ran into him about a year ago downtown at a gas station and when I said "hey Ralph..hows it going?" he looked at me like a complete stranger and acted very weird and almost scared. This was only about 2 years since I talked to him last but I knew then he was fighting some kind of mental illness...hope he doesn't suffer, he's a fun and good guy.

[Cowperson]

Very sad.

I first saw him in the press room in the basement of city hall in the late 1970's, improbably dressed in some kind of cowboy getup, including the hat, cowboy boots up on a table, a beer in one hand, a smoke in the other and a big, stupid grin on his face. . . . . . and I remembered all that when he was running for Mayor a few years later.

When the Olympics rolled around and Klein was giving his speech, I remember the ABC announcers marvelling that he had been winning elections with 90% of the vote or something like that.

He was a personality and its sad if that unique personality is disappearing.

Cowperson

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

That's tough news.

Mark me as a guy who has fond memories of Klein as Premier.

That's tough to see. I'm sure he would have had a lot to say about this current federal election campaign.

in the last provincial election, they had ralph on as a guest commentator and I remember listening to him and thinking that he might have had a few wobbly pops before going on air.

maybe it was the start of what he is suffering from now.

very sad, great great man, very charismatic and a great leader. He was exactly what Calgary and then the Province needed at the time.

[CaptainCrunch]

The guy was the most ill conceived political force that I've ever seen. He seemed to be a guy that was unsuited to the normal political portrayal yet he thrived. He ushered Calgary onto the international stage, he ruthlessly saved the province.

Personal problems aside, Ralph Klein was a great man.

The only problem I had with him was that he personally burned down the Calgarian (I kid I kid)

I've always had the fear of the Flowers of Algeron scenario, where you're smart, but your facilities start going but your aware of what you used to be.

[YYC in LAX]

Sad news. Such a confusing and sad disease. Wish him and his family the best.

[TylerSVT]

Degenerative Brain diseases have to be the worst thing in the world. One of my biggest fears in life is getting Alzheimer's as an old man... that stuff is some of the most heartbreaking stuff ever

I feel for the Klein's

[squiggs96]

This is very sad news. Ralph did so much for Calgary and Alberta, and I hope they are both there for him when he needs it the most.

[Ford Prefect]

As others have said, I didn't always agree with him, but I always respected him because I'm comfortable that whatever he did he did because he thought it was good for his constituents.

I'm a friend of Ralph's brother ... and I've heard some legendary childhood stories about Ralph. There won't be another like him that's for sure.

The last time I visited with his brother he told me how upset Ralph was with the current government for the mess they've made of things. He said Ralph felt when he left office that the province was in such good shape "that even the NDP couldn't muck it up." The fact his own party did, and in short order, really irked him.