Royce Simmons goes public with dementia battle in bid to raise funds
Royce Simmons has been involved in some unforgettable moments during his life in rugby league, but his recall of some of them isn’t what it should be.
The Panthers legend is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, a diagnosis he initially kept from all but those closest to him. However, the 61-year-old decided to go public in a bid to raise funds for Dementia Australia, via a charity walk from his hometown of Gooloogong to Penrith.
Simmons will make the 300-kilometre trek over 10 days, arriving at BlueBet Stadium in time for the kick-off of Penrith’s May 27 clash with North Queensland. The former NSW and Australian hooker decided to get tested after becoming increasingly forgetful at functions with his wife.
“I’d say, ‘What are you doing with the bottle of wine?’ and she would say ‘We just went to the bottle-o and bought it,’” Simmons said.
“I can’t remember that. There were a few incidents like that coming up a little bit too regularly for me.
“My first thing was ‘let’s get it checked out’. Obviously, I went down to see the doctor and he took the scans and showed me.
Royce Simmons celebrates the 1991 grand final win with Mark Geyer.Credit:Craig Golding
“He said, ‘These couple of dots here could be concussions, because you have talked to me about concussion’.
“I said, ‘How good is that, we’ve only got that’. But then he said, ‘Unfortunately this is all dementia down through here [in the scans]’. That knocked me over, I can’t recall any more of the conversation that day.
“I went to the car, went home, went upstairs, walked into my wife who said, ‘How did you get on?’ I said I had dementia. I just lost it.”
Simmons said telling his family the diagnosis was heartbreaking.
“I took my grandkids aside and spoke to them, that was so hard,” he said. “Trying to tell them that Pop won’t know them in a few years, that it’s not my fault, all of those sorts of things were really hard.”
Simmons described rugby league as “the best thing that ever happened to me” and wanted to use his profile to raise funds and awareness. While some may draw a direct link between the concussions he suffered and dementia, there is no hard evidence the two are related.
“Through the great opportunity that I’ve been given through rugby league, I want to put something good back out into the community,” Simmons said.
To donate to Royce’s Big Walk, go to www.memorywalk.com.au/event/royces-big-walk
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