Media personality Amanda Keller was in the middle of a radio segment on Thursday when she broke down in tears over her husband’s health struggles.
The former Living Room star was chatting about feelgood Australian songs with her Jonesy & Amanda co-star Brendan Jones when she became emotional about her husband Harley Oliver, who is battling Parkinson’s disease.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Amanda Keller reveals husband’s health battle.
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As Richard Clapton’s 1982 song The Best Years of our Lives began to play, Keller choked up.
“As I get older, I see this song differently,” she said, breaking down.
“There’s a lyric here and I think of Harley, who is going through health battles.
“It says, ‘I wish time would stop 10 years ago’.”
Her voice quavering, Keller added that she was “learning slowly life’s always changing.”
“Don’t waste time, but this is a lesson for all of us, whether it’s your kids leaving home, your parents passing away, we all have our challenges,” she said.
“But hold on to every moment because it’s so precious.”
Keller, 61, revealed in October that her husband had been living with Parkinson’s for six years.
Taking to her Double A Chattery podcast, she said they had decided it was time to go public with his health struggles.
“I first noticed Harley’s footfall around the house changing, like he was dragging his leg, and his hands started to shake, and he said he’d just been whacked in the thumbs as a wicket keeper playing cricket,” Keller told podcast co-host Anita McGregor.
“But I felt something was going on.
“I know Harley so well, and how protective he is of his inner core.
“He was absolutely scared and in denial, and who would blame him.”
As the pair feared, Oliver was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, the disease suffered by actor Michael J. Fox.
Parkinson’s is a brain disorder that causes shaking, stiffness, balance and co-ordination problems.
Presently, there is no cure.
“When (Harley) came home (after receiving the diagnosis), we both just sat there completely numb,” Keller revealed.
“Two days later I went with our eldest son Liam to an open day.
“He was in Year 11 and I fought tears all day just looking at these (young) people at the beginning of their journey, and I was so envious.
“I had such a flashback to when that was me.
“And I thought, ‘Their journey is just starting,’ and something closed off for me.
“I don’t necessarily feel that now, but this is how I felt in the early days.”
Keller went on to say that her husband’s diagnosis has made her a kinder person, but also a “sadder” one.
She admitted she was sometimes frustrated by their situation, knowing there was nothing she could do to change or control it.
“All the things that it does, I thought, ‘Why isn’t he fighting it?’,” she said.
“And of course, I’ve come to see he can’t control this, and neither can I, and that’s been a big lesson for me.”
The mother-of-two went on to explain why they had kept the diagnosis quiet for so long.
“It’s hard when people ask, ‘What’s going on with Harley?’,” she said.
“People are shocked at the changes, and I can’t make that better for anybody.
“It’s not a surprise to me, but I still don’t know what to say.”
Later in the podcast, Keller’s husband came on to explain that his mother, who died recently, never knew about his disease.
“She wouldn’t have dealt very well with the idea I had Parkinson’s,” he said, noting that his mother had lived in a retirement village and “knows what (Parkinson’s) means”.
After her death, he said, “that pressure of trying to pretend I was really well was gone”.
“It was better for her not having to worry about me as much as herself,” he added.
Speaking about his wife, Oliver said she had been “terrific with all of this”.
“I love you, Harley,” Keller replied.
When Keller shared a link to the podcast episode on Instagram, fans flocked to the comments section to show their support.
“What a wonderful, touching podcast. It reminds us what is important,” one person wrote.
“Shared with honesty, laughter and deep love,” wrote another.
“Heartbreaking and life affirming at the same time,” noted a third.
“So much love to you both.”
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