For any of us who have seen our loved ones deteriorate right before our eyes, due to the horrific affects of Alzheimer’s, and have been witness to their confusion, dementia, angry outbursts, frightened looks, and uncontrollable tears, yesterday’s episode of General Hospital brought with it a stark reminder of how this disease is a gut-punch to those afflicted and their family members.

For several months, GH viewers saw a bit less of Mike; played brilliantly by recent Daytime Emmy Supporting Actor in a Drama Series winner, Max Gail.  And smartly, the writers have taken the time to advance Mike’s condition …. as at this point he doesn’t recognize his son, his family, his friends, and more.  For Mike, he is living in the past spirally backward and downward.

When Dev (Ashton Arbab) and Josslyn (Eden McCoy) go to visit Mike at Turning Woods, it’s clear  how much he is suffering.  When Dev plays a checkers game with Mike it seems to calm him down, but when Sonny (Maurice Benard) enters, all hell breaks loose.  Mike thinks his son is actually one of their mortal enemies Joe Scully.

Earlier, at the Corinthos home, Michael (Chad Duell) sees that Sonny is considering entering his father in a clinical trial. Sonny says he knows it won’t cure the disease, but hopes the drugs in the trial can slow its progression.  In a key question, any family member needs to ask themselves, Michael asks Sonny to think first, if this is the man Mike would want to be?  Michael shares that Mike is no longer himself and sadly, there is no coming back from that.

All this becomes more poignant when Sonny sees first-hand how far Mike has slid.  Will Sonny be able to come to terms with losing Mike to Alzheimer’s?  How will he deal with it?  Gail’s partner in this entire storyline has been GH icon, Maurice Benard, who delivers poignant work throughout this story in very contained, emotional moments of deep hurt and pain, as Sonny watches the father he knew become lost in himself and to others.

Watch the key scenes below from yesterday’s GH below featuring Gail.  Then, let us know, do you think Max could end up in the running for another Daytime Emmy for his work?  Comment below.

WATCH: Mike confuses Sonny with Joe Scully and brings Josslyn’s game night to a grinding halt. @MaxGail @MauriceBenard #GH pic.twitter.com/eOOfu54cA5

— General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) December 13, 2019

ABC and General Hospital released a promo for the week of December 9th which features Franco (Roger Howarth) undergoing the mind-mapping reversal procedure that would restore his memory from that of Drew Cain’s back to Franco Baldwin.

But, as viewers saw on last Friday’s cliffhanger, Peter (Wes Ramsey) is trying to stop Dr. Maddox (Anthony Montgomery) from performing the procedure on Franco by ordering a hit on him.

In the promo, Elizabeth (Rebecca Hersbt) waits by her husband’s side hoping he will return to her and remember the love they share.  As well,  Cameron (William Lipton) prays with her that Franco will come back to them so they can be a family again in time for the holiday season.

Watch the teaser below.

Then, let us know if you are hoping Franco returns and that he is no longer Drew Cain in the comment section, or are you hoping for a different procedural outcome when he wakes up?

Looks like a medical crisis will bring Matt Cohen (Griffin Munro) back to General Hospital today on Friday’s episode and next week on upcoming episodes of the ABC daytime drama series.

In addition, we wonder if Cohen might appear in scenes with Maura West, who’s Ava Jerome is checked into Shadybrook trying to deal with her emotional state, which unbeknownst to her is being caused by Nikolas Cassadine (Marcus Coloma).

As GH fans know, Cohen first came on to the GH scene back in 2016, but departed the series earlier in 2019.

Meanwhile, Matt has landed a gig on Entertainment Tonight as one of their correspondents and anchors while continuing to do directing, and acting projects.

What will bring Griffin back to Port Charles? Happy to see Matt again on GH? Comment below.