Pat Summitt - Alzheimer's Disease

I chose to write my third neuro note on a disease I believe gets overlooked sometimes and that people categorize with only elderly people. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and occurs most frequently in people older than 60. Three main pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the excessive amounts of beta-amyloid protein in the brain, tangles in the neurons, and loss of neuronal connections. As the disease progresses, the brain actually shrinks dramatically, which affects all of the functions of the brain. At this time, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, however, there are medications that can slow down the progression and symptoms. I watched a documentary on Pat Summitt provided on YouTube at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3c96iQ1pVc
I encourage everyone to watch the documentary about her life and hear about Alzheimer's through Pat Summitt herself, and then to get involved advocating for the disease as well as informing yourself and others about Alzheimer's disease. I have also provided links at the bottom of the page to her foundation website where you can find additional resources on Alzheimer's disease.

Pat Summitt is no stranger to the Tennessee Vol community. She is the winningest college basketball coach in men's or women's basketball. Summitt was highly respected by her players, her co-workers, her opponents, and most importantly to her, her son, Tyler. Tyler grew up on the sidelines with his mom, and was almost born at a recruit's house (this just proves how dedicated Pat was to the game and her players). In interviews with several people who spent a lot of time with Pat, now head coach of the Lady Vols Basketball team, Holly Warlick, stated that they started noticing something was wrong when Pat could only do a couple things at once whereas she used to be able to juggle 5 or 6 different things at one time. Her son, Tyler, also noticed she wasn't acting herself, so they decided to go to her primary care physician, where they referred her to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
After several full body tests and scans, the doctors diagnosed Pat Summitt with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, at the young age of 59. It was certainly a shock for Pat, Tyler, her team, and the Vol community. But Pat faced dementia the best way she knew how - to fight it straight on. With Pat being a competitor all her life, she said she was going to "train" and "practice" everyday to beat her "opponent" and even if the opponent is unbeatable, no one can tell her that she didn't try her hardest. She woke up every morning and played matching games on her iPad, put together puzzles, exercised, took her dogs on a walk, or did crossword puzzles. She wanted to make sure she was keeping her brain sharp. She also had decided that she would continue as the head coach of the Lady Vols Basketball team until she, or her team, thought that her dementia had gotten to a point where she would no longer be able to be their fearless leader. Just a year after she was diagnosed, she decided to step down as head coach, but still attend practices and games.

Pat Summitt knew that she was facing her toughest opponent and that getting the "win" at the end was not a possibility, but she wanted to do everything she could to provide help with the research and funding. In November of 2011, she announced her foundation, The Pat Summitt Foundation Fund.Since her diagnosis and the creation of her foundation, over $800,000 in grants and financial support has been awarded to non-profits that conduct research for a cure, provide patients and caregivers with support, and promote the awareness of Alzheimer's disease. The Pat Summitt Foundation is raising $2.5 million to grant to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and will devote 100% of the donations to help launch The Pat Summitt Alzheimer's Clinic.
Pat and Tyler Summitt both wanted to inform people of Alzheimer's because he said that at some point, everyone would be touched by the disease. With the Pat Summitt Foundation website, they wanted to provide links to resources about dementia, Alzheimer's, as well as information about the disease and how you can donate.

Alzheimer's is not just a disease present in older people, however, that is the most common. Pat Summitt wanted to leave the legacy that Alzheimer's can happen to anybody, of any age, and it's all about how you respond to the disease. Tyler also made sure to say that with Alzheimer's, he knew that his mother's memory would fade and all of the memories they made together wouldn't be remembered by Pat, but he felt it was important to continuously make new memories with her.
Growing up UT fans, I've watched Pat Summitt coach since I was a little girl. When hearing that she was diagnosed with a disease that I had watched my 85 year old great-grandmother suffer from, I was confused because I thought "only old people get Alzheimer's", which is a common misconception of the disease.

Five short years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Pat Summitt sadly passed away. In the live viewing of her celebration of life in Thompson-Boling Arena, where Pat Summitt was the head coach, it was evident the lives she touched and the difference she made not only in sports and academics, but also how much awareness she had raised about Alzheimer's. She had a positive outlook from the day she was diagnosed and she wanted to make the best out of the time she had left, which is the most important thing I learned while reading her story.

"It is what it is. But, it will be what you make it."

 - Pat Summitt

 

References:  

“Episode 2: Pat's Story.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3c96iQ1pVc. 

 

“The Pat Summitt Foundation.” Pat Summitt's Story | Lady Vols | The Pat Summitt Foundation, www.patsummitt.org/.

utsportstv. “Celebration of Life Service for Pat Summitt.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EvX3cNlf54.