Robin Williams had 3 years to live

[pixy0stix]

www.9news.com/story/life/2015/11/03/robin-williams-widow-says-he-had-just-three-years-live/75096146/

Robin Williams' widow has revealed he had just three years to live and says she doesn't blame her late husband "one bit" for taking his own life.

In her first interview since Williams' death, Susan Williams tells ABC News' Amy Robach about the health problems the late actor was suffering before he committed suicide in August 2014 at age 63.

“If Robin was lucky, he would've had maybe three years left. And they would've been hard years. And it's a good chance he would've been locked up," says Williams of a doctor's prognosis that the comedian had the early stages of Parkinson's Disease. A coroner's report found signs of Lewy Body Dementia, a condition that leads to a decline in thinking and reasoning abilities.

Williams was suffering from depression and paranoia, but more problematic was his extreme anxiety. “That (depression) was a small piece of the pie of what was going on … really, what was overriding that more than depression was anxiety. And the anxiety was huge,” she says.

Was suicide was his way of taking back control? “In my opinion, oh, yeah,” Williams says. “I mean, there are many reasons. Believe me. I've thought about this. Of what was going on in his mind, what made him ultimately commit – you know, to do that act. And I think he was just saying, ‘No.’ And I don't blame him one bit. I don't blame him one bit.”

Williams says that upon arriving to find emergency responders trying to revive her husband, she was able to see him. “I just wanted to see my husband. And I got to see him ... and I got to pray with him. And I got to tell him, ‘I forgive you 50 billion percent, with all my heart. You're the bravest man I've ever known.’ You know, we were living a nightmare,” she says.

The full interview airs tonight on World News Tonight with David Muir and Nightline, and Friday on The View.

[laurenpetro]

i'm going to preface this with the following:

*this is what my father has
*you guys know my feelings about my father

that said, i'm pretty skeptical of this interview (or at least, what i've read of it). this isn't cancer. they don't have a "timeline" for this. at best it's a crapshoot. my father is a fucking mess and they won't say to anyone "we think he has XXX time to live" because it happens in stages which can last for years or never happen at all.

i said from the second i heard his diagnosis that i didn't think it was a bad decision. watching this happen is hell. my father was a dynamic man and now he shits himself all the time and can't find his way down a hallway. that's not a life. not at all. i don't know if the doctors weren't thorough with their information or my father and his wife just stuck their heads in the sand WRT the diagnosis but if he had taken a long walk off a short pier i wouldn't have blamed him one bit.

[wambam]

I don't know how I feel about this.

I lost a friend to suicide in August and at first I was desperately hoping that I'd find that she had a terminal illness and wanted to spare everyone the pain of walking through that. I did read a book in the aftermath that said that when this happens, it rarely gives the peace the loved ones think it will.

[teengirlsquad]

My grandfather just passed from this disease. DLB is truly terrible.

[RandZB]

My grandfather had this. It dragged on for years and he was so miserable. I definitely feel for Robin and his family. It's such a horrible disease.

[ksun]

I don't know about the whole 3 years to live, but Lewy Body Dementia is far worse than just dementia, if you can imagine that. Ultimately, I'm glad Robin is at peace on his terms.

[readyin07]

I was not aware of Lewy Body dementia prior to hearing this story. My God, what an awful diagnosis to live through.

I feel maybe a little surprised she hasn't spoken sooner (though I have no idea when they got autopsy results). She certainly didn't have to, but given the information I feel like I would have.

[aurora]

The whole situation is just horribly sad. I can't judge Robin Williams from afar.

[winnieandwine]

The three years seems very specific to me, but my guess is there was a range discussed and his wife clung to that one number. average life expectancy for Lewy body dementia can be anywhere from 2-8 years after onset depending on a variety of factors. If he'd had symptoms for a couple of years already, the timeline fits.

Parkinson's alone wouldn't explain the short life expectancy -- the LBD is key. In fact, life expectancy for PD tends to align grossly with the general population. Quality of life can be another story.

[wise_rita]

Does this mean we get to stop seeing that "The funniest people are always the saddest" Robin Williams meme now?

Please?

[kme]

I'm not negating the situation isn't sad but something doesn't sit right with me. He had serious mental illness and I think blaming his suicide on on "medical" issues sets back mental health awareness.

He had early stages of Parkinson's - think Michael J Fox in the early years. The CORONER found evidence of Lewy Body which means they didn't know that when he was alive. If they did, she would have mentioned that. He was photographed out days prior in great physicial shape. She's denying the real cause.

[nursewife]

Reading that he had Lewy Body Dementia broke my heart. It is so, so damn cruel. I'm not sure if he knew he had it, but I'm sure he was already feeling the effects of it. That plus Parkinson's. Wow. Poor man. Nobody should have to deal with such a cruel fate.

[downtoearth]

I hope some of this brings peace to his family. I also hope some of this brings awareness that suicide is multi-faceted and we can't ever really know all the reasons be them mental or physical as to why someone chooses to end their life.

[Alyssa]

Nov 3, 2015 16:17:17 GMT -5 puddleofgrace said:

This is heartbreaking. It sounds like he had even more medical issues going on that was not mentioned specifically. Maybe that was where they gave him the 3 years?

I cannot imagine the pain that family went through and continues to go through.

I just watched a show called '"Autopsy: The Last Hours Of" Robin Williams' just a couple days ago and it went into the health issues that he was facing.  Not only was he dealing with Parkinsons, but during his autopsy, they discovered that he Williams was dealing early signs of Lewy Body Dementia.  Robin Williams life was built around his quick wit, so for him to be dealing with early Parkinsons disease, plus instances of anxiety attacks, strange delusions and the feeling that his mind was slipping from his grasp must have been completely devastating for the actor.


link