The daughter of footballing legend Gordon McQueen has opened up on the heartbreaking dementia battle she and her family face as the 70-year-old has now become bedridden due to his dementia diagnosis.
Hayley McQueen appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday morning as she chatted with Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley about how the former centre-back is doing.
It was announced in 2021 that Gordon, who played for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United, had been diagnosed with vascular dementia.
And surprisingly, his daughter Hayley updated people with the news that the former Scotland player can still recognise friends and family, which has come as a shock to them all.
Hayley explained: "He knows who we all are, which is weird because I still see dementia with not a clue what's going on or who anybody is, so I quite like that fact from a selfish point of view.
"But part of me thinks if he didn't know who we were, it might not be so hard to think of the day when he has to go into a home," she continued.
"At least he doesn't know where he is or what's going on, whereas he's very aware it's like he's locked in himself."
"It's so cruel, just so cruel," Kate added. "All power to finding some help and one day, please God a cure."
Hayley admitted the family, when first discovering his diagnosis, didn't even want to tell him, adding they "debated whether to tell him or not," Hayley said.
She continued: "If we don't tell him he's never going to know, and if we do tell him do we need to remind him every day that he's got dementia?
"We weren't going to tell him and we were sat in the hospital and they said 'ok Gordon this is how we are going to deal with dementia and well that was that then."
When pressed how Gordon handled the news when he found out, Hayley spoke of the challenges the family faced in accepting he wouldn't get any better.
She said: "He just said I don't want to get any worse, I want to get better and we had to say I don't think we can make that happen but we can make it as good as it can be and we will be there for you and around you.
"I just had a baby so I was dealing with all the emotions of that and a four and a half hour drive from my parents in the north east so that was tough knowing I was so far away and it felt a little bit helpless.
"Covid then happened which meant all these people my dad enjoyed being around weren't able to be around him."
Opening up on how he is doing today, she added: "He's completely bedridden which is awful, a big strapping man in bed.
"He watches a lot of football, not current day, but he has a lot of football friends popping by and lots of his ex-team mates come by."
Meanwhile, the Professional Footballers' Association says that it works with hundreds of families of former footballers in many services, including specialist dementia nursing and helps with access to funding.
It also funds research on the expected link between dementia and football, specifically heading the ball.
Richard quipped: "I must say I have taken issue with it, I would axe it, I would get rid of heading completely because I just think its so obvious but its a complicated one."
"My dad says 'no' and I'm like 'what the heck you're in this state' but yeah.... it's difficult," concluded Hayley.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here .
READ NEXT:
Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid thanks Piers Morgan as she celebrates 20 years on TV
GMB's Susanna Reid forced to change dress that was too 'racy' for morning TV
GMB's Ed Balls clashes with Nigel Farage saying 'can't you just retire now' amid Brexit backlash
ITV's GMB studio descends into chaos with guests involved in screaming match
GMB's Susanna Reid reminisces as throwback BBC presenting snap shared on air
