A Son's Poignant Father's Day Gift For His Dad With Alzheimer's

OMAHA, NE — Billy Lea has Alzheimer’s disease, and no one knows what twist the terrible illness will take next, his wife Betty Lea, told a television station in Omaha, where her husband and his son will check an item off their bucket list this weekend. They’re taking in opening round play of the College World Series, where Billy’s alma mater, Mississippi State University, is playing.

Matt Lea hit a Father’s Day grand slam this year when he surprised his dad — who wore a Mississippi State Bulldogs jersey himself back in the day — with tickets to the College World Series.

“Well shoot,” Billy said in a video his son posted on Twitter. “You’re going to break my heart.”

Matt knows what other children of parents with Alzheimer’s know. It’s a cruel disease that robs people of their pasts. Making memories and spending time together in the moment count can’t be put off. He also knows there may come a day when the moment he and his dad are making the most of right now will be a memory for only one of them.

When Matt asked Betty about taking his dad on a hundreds-of-miles College World Series road trip — a bucket list item for both of them — she was apprehensive.

“I said, ‘Well he can, but you’re going to have to stay with him 24/7 because he can’t make any decisions on his own,’ and Matt said, ‘I understand but if we don’t do it this time, we’ll never get to do it,’” Betty told KETV.

Matt drove 12 hours from his home in Melbourne, Florida, and left Mississippi with his parents on Thursday. They made the most of the drive up to Omaha and saw some sights in Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.

College World Series play opens Saturday and goes through June 27. Mississippi State goes up against Washington at 7 p.m. Central Time Saturday.

Matt said he’s surprised that his video has touched so many hearts and is grateful that people have offered to help pay for the trip, but said he’s got it covered. Anyone who feels compelled to donate should do so to the Alzheimer’s Association, he said. And it so happens June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month.

“I just wanted to have that moment of video just for me and him and just wanted to share it with some people and, like everything that goes viral, you never know it's going to," Matt told KETV. "It was a touching moment and I'm glad, just so much support and stories have come from people that are really warming the hearts of everybody and just kind of pulling everybody together."

Watch the trip-of-a-lifetime play out so far on Twitter.

File photo: Jimmy Rash/CSM/REX/Shutterstock