Casey Kasem’s children may be drawing near the end of their battle with Casey’s wife, and may finallly be able to see him soon, according to People. Kerri, 41, Julie, 38, and Mike, 40 have been at odds with his wife, Jean, since this summer when they staged peaceful protests outside the home she shares with Casey, and claimed that she would not allow them to see their father.
“There is no communication between Jean and us and his daughters,” brother Mouner Kasem said Saturday. “We have no knowledge of how he is, what he’s doing, if he’s better, if he’s worse, and we’re scared that we’ll never see him again.”
This led to suspicions that he was not being properly cared for in the advanced stages of his Parkinson’s disease. In addition to suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he “may have early onset Parkinson’s dementia.”, according to CNN. Kasem has the “ability to shuffle short distances, but is mainly bedridden and requires the assistance of a wheelchair to move any distance,” a court document said.
However, Don Pitts, Casey’s agent of over 35 years and close friend said Casey is still of sound mind. “He has Parkinson’s, has it very bad. It took his speech, and for somebody who made millions of dollars using his voice — for him to lose that gift, that beautiful instrument — it must be frustrating. But he’s handling it very well,” Pitts said. “His mind is very sharp, his brain works well. You can tell in his eyes he understands everything you’re saying. He just has trouble translating it from the brain to his vocal cords.”
Julie filed for temporary control of his health care after suspicions were raised, but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lesley C. Green denied her petition. “He’s receiving either good to excellent care,” Judge Green stated. “I find no good cause for a temporary conservatorship.”
Andrew Katzenstein, the attorney for Julie said that “they were happy that the judge focused her attention on the important issue of visitation,” he said. “Mr. Kasem has a long strong and loving relationship with his adult children and we are continuing to try and reach resolution with the other side so visits can begin again.”
He also said, “We’re happy to know Casey Kasem is well cared for, and we’re thrilled the judge addressed the issue of visitation. Mr. Kasem very much wants to see his children. We’re now going to see if we can make that happen.”
A court appointed physician that was looking into Kasem’s health care status, said that Casey had expressed a desire to him for seeing his children. “I’m going to push you to work on this,” said Judge Green.
The two parties have been trying to reach an agreement, but the attorney for Jean said they have put two visitation proposals on the table, and both have been rejected by the kids. The attorney, Marshall Grossman, said the proposal included individual visits with Kasem every third Sunday for one hour, including major holidays and Kasem’s birthday. But there was a catch. He said that there must be a security guard present “to ensure there is decorum.”
Hmmm. One hour a month with a guard hovering around. I wonder why that one was rejected?
Grossman assured the judge that, “We’re not looking to provide a piecemeal solution, we’re looking to bring peace to this matter.” Negotiations will continue next week, and despite the two rejections, Grossman is optimistic that an agreement can be reached by the two parties.
Image via wikimedia commons
