‘He’s been a drinker and a smoker since his late teens. To give it all away cold turkey is incredible. This is his new challenge,’ Newton’s son Clint told The Daily Telegraph.
He was in a coma for several days after the incident and spent eight weeks in intensive care, where doctors gave him a 50 per cent chance of survival.
Newton’s family said he is channelling the same grit and determination from the accident in his fight with Alzheimer’s and is making healthy lifestyle changes to give him the best chance of survival.
Alzheimer’s has been thrust upon him but he’s up for the fight. The perception of dad was always a character and a bloke who enjoyed a beer and a smoke. That’s not him anymore. He still wants to be the best he can be for mum and his grandchildren,’ Clint said.
Moving for treatment
Newton and his wife Jacky are selling their acreage near Newcastle named Augusta to move to Merewether for treatment of the disease.
He is suffering from short term memory loss and struggles to complete some sentences.
Clint has taken over as chairman of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation and said his father’s fight is far from over.
‘I can guarantee one thing – he won’t give up,’ he said.
