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On Veronica Mars Season 4, one of the major storylines involves the health of Veronica’s dad, Keith Mars. Just what happened to him? Read on for details. This post will have spoilers about Keith Mars’ health, including a revelation from the finale in the final section of the story.
Keith Mars Was in a Car Accident in the Movie
A Veronica Mars movie was released before Season 4, back in 2014. During the movie, Keith was in a serious car accident that left him in critical condition. He recovered and was able to return to work at the end of the movie, but he’s still suffering the ill effects now that the new season has started.
Keith is still in physical therapy and still needs a cane to walk, thanks to injuries from the car wreck. It’s been a number of years since the wreck and he’s still suffering ill effects and physical limitations as a result. Recovery from that wreck is taking Veronica’s dad a long, long time.
The Cause of His Memory Problem Isn’t Clear for Most of the Show
Who’s our favorite TV father?! @ricocolantoni as Keith Mars, of course! Happy Father’s Day! #VeronicaMars #RubMyFeet
For most of Season 4, the cause of Keith’s memory problem isn’t clear, but it’s pretty serious. He forgets names, ammo, and even taking things off the burner. It seems like he may be suffering from some form of early-onset dementia. Either that or he is suffering from memory problems caused by the car wreck. It’s not clear what’s causing the issue, but it’s serious and it’s getting progressively worse. His regular doctor can’t help much, so Clyde gets him in to see a concierge specialist who might be able to help.
We Find Out What’s Wrong at the Very End of the Season
Keith confesses near the end that he’s concerned he’s suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. That’s the same injury that football players often suffer from and that’s the source of some big NFL lawsuits. Keith is so convinced that he won’t get better that he even retires. According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, CTE is a degenerative brain disease found in people with repetitive brain trauma. Tau clumps spread in the brain, killing cells. Early symptoms may affect mood and behavior, like impulse control or paranoia. Then patients have problems with memory and thinking, including impaired judgment. Symptoms often don’t appear until patients are in their 40s or 50s. Sometimes symptoms may be stable for a long time before getting worse. Sometimes memory training exercises can help.
But at the very end of the season, Keith gets his diagnosis from the concierge doctor and it’s good news. It turns out that his memory lapses are because of the medications he’s taking. Once his prescriptions are adjusted, he’ll be fine.
This happens in real life too. Quite a few medications have side effects that can mimic dementia. For example, Benadryl and other similar types of medicines may have a link to dementia. In fact, in elderly people, a simple UTI can sometimes cause symptoms similar to dementia.
So Keith is going to be just fine. Veronica’s not going to lose her dad, and he gets to run the private investigation business again. Keith is a fan favorite, so viewers were very relieved by the good news they got about Keith at the end.