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Bill Ritter, Captain Sully, Danny Glover and the New Reality of Alzheimer’s
More people are learning they have Alzheimer’s while they can still work, plan and live with purpose
AARP (From left: David Russell/Disney via Getty Images, Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images, Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Key takeaways
- Several high-profile people have recently disclosed Alzheimer’s diagnoses — and their intent to continue contributing to society as long as they can.
- New diagnostic tests and an aging population means more people are being diagnosed, and at earlier stages when symptoms are minimal.
- While there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s, lifestyle changes may slow the progression of disease, and two medications may be an option for people in the early stages.
When longtime New York City news anchor Bill Ritter announced his Alzheimer’s diagnosis on live TV in June, he didn’t look or sound like a stereotype of someone with the disease. He appeared poised and professional, just like the night before and the years before that.
Part of Ritter’s message ran contrary to common assumptions about Alzheimer’s too: While he’d no longer anchor WABC-TV’s 6 p.m. news, as he’d done for 25 years, the 76-year-old said he would remain employed as a journalist at the station — covering Alzheimer’s and related diseases on air and online. “I’m going to continue working, right here at ABC7,” he said.
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Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III shared a similar message when he announced his early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis in July. The famous “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot and aviation safety expert, 75, told People he’s staying engaged with family and public-service work, which includes sharing his diagnosis. “This new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service,” he said. “And the answer is to speak up.”
Ritter, Sully and actor Danny Glover, who announced his diagnosis in July, represent a largely overlooked story of Alzheimer’s: the people who remain engaged in work and life before debilitating symptoms set in.
“We often only talk about or see people who are in more advanced stages, where it’s quite obvious that they’re impaired. But there are lots of people who are still [in] very mild [stages] and still functioning well in society and able to do most of their day-to-day activities without too much difficulty,” says Hayley B. Kristinsson, a clinical neuropsychologist and Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of California, Irvine. “A diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to drastically change your life immediately.”
“As scary as it is, I really want people to know there is life after a diagnosis, and it’s a good life after diagnosis.”
Indeed, while more than 7.4 million Americans age 65-plus are living with Alzheimer’s, a 2020 report found that just over half of patients have mild forms of the disease. And with new blood tests becoming available, making it easier to detect Alzheimer’s at younger ages and earlier stages, more U.S. adults will likely join their ranks.
Finding ways forward
Kerry Dennis was at the peak of her career as a financial services executive when she started to struggle with smaller tasks like managing her agenda or firing off emails. “All of a sudden, it’s taking me 20 minutes-plus [per email] because I can’t make the thoughts go in right,” says Dennis, who’s now 61 and lives in New Hampshire.
After a series of tests and one major lapse — blanking when attempting to bring her team up to speed on a project she’d been working on for six months — Dennis was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s at age 58, which means her disease is early-onset as well. Though she left her job and struggles to keep track of plot lines in books and on TV, she continues to volunteer, exercise and bird-watch.
She advocates for more awareness around living with the disease through the “This is Alz” campaign run by the nonprofit HealthyWomen, which educates women in midlife about making health care decisions. She’s not a candidate for the two FDA-approved medications that aim to slow disease progression, but she participates in two longitudinal clinical trials — research studies that collect data from the same participants over time — to help advance understanding of how lifestyle factors affect the disease too.
“As scary as it is, I really want people to know there is life after a diagnosis, and it’s a good life after diagnosis,” Dennis says. While the disease advances differently in everyone, Kristinsson says people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s tend to experience changes that go beyond the effects of normal aging but don’t interfere much with daily life, a stage known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), for two to seven years before a diagnosis of mild dementia. In mild dementia, a person may need some help with things like directions while driving or remembering to take medications.
Not everyone with MCI will develop dementia; certain lifestyle changes can make a difference. People who have early-onset Alzheimer’s, a diagnosis before age 65, generally develop more advanced stages of the disease faster.
“Alzheimer’s progresses differently from person to person, so decisions about reducing or stopping work should be based on changes in day-to-day functioning, judgment, reliability and safety rather than the diagnosis alone,” says Davide Cappon, director of neuropsychology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
Some of the first deficits to appear are often in working memory, so people may be able to compensate in some work settings by recording meetings or relying on an assistant for reminders, for example. Later, as executive function skills like problem-solving and information processing begin to falter, whether a person can continue to work may depend on their profession. So while an architectural engineer or surgeon may not be able to work safely, someone whose duties can be streamlined or supported with reminders may be able to continue.
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Dennis, for example, cooks with help from the virtual assistant Alexa and an app that organizes recipes. She uses a GPS app to drive on some familiar streets during the day. “There are a lot of things that I can do,” she says. “Sometimes you just need a few tricks up your sleeve.”
Staying engaged is helpful, if not essential, for morale. Plus, keeping the brain engaged may help prolong cognitive functioning, even after a diagnosis. “What can employers, communities do for people who are in these mild stages to help them continue living purposeful, productive lives?” Kristinsson asks. “Because those things will help them maintain a sense of purpose, and it’s good for their mood and the disease progression.”
Beth Battaglino, a New Jersey-based nurse and CEO of HealthyWomen, agrees that broader societal changes are crucial to support this growing population. Early detection only goes so far, advocates say, if the newly diagnosed don’t have insurance that covers the most appropriate treatments and bosses who are willing to make accommodations. Caregivers need their own support, as well. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that 18 percent of caregivers — mostly women who are unpaid for the role — cut back on their own working hours to be there for friends or loved ones with the disease.
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Battaglino says.
A proactive approach
Blood testing to detect Alzheimer’s is becoming available, although the Food and Drug Administration recommends the test only for people who have symptoms. Whether to get tested when minor symptoms begin is a personal decision. But some experts and advocates encourage early detection because there are some treatments — though not cures — available and actions to take. Plus, new treatments are being tested in clinical trials, for people who want to consider participating in research.
“From my point of view, the earlier you look at a human being, the more likely you can keep them healthier longer,” says Dr. Florence Comite, a physician-scientist and founder of the Comite Center for Precision Medicine & Healthy Longevity, which has locations in New York City; Palo Alto, California; and Miami Beach, Florida.
One of her patients, for instance, came to her two years ago with an early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis and has remained relatively stable. He is taking a combination of medications and has made lifestyle changes, such as focusing on sleep and heart health. He continues to walk his dogs and run his company.
On an Eyewitness News ABC7 segment, Ritter, too, told Maria Shriver his symptoms have “been level” since he began a regimen with his medical team, the specifics of which he didn’t disclose. “They say I could actually maybe last a long time,” he said.
Video: Maria Shriver on the Alzheimer’s Risk Women Can’t Ignore
“There are aspects of optimizing … how you sleep, how you eat, if you drink or not and exercise. And all of those will play a role in sustaining cognition and memory for a longer period,” says Comite, author of Invincible: Defy Your Genetic Destiny to Live Better, Longer. Strong social connections make a big difference too, research shows.
For Dennis, receiving an early diagnosis was devastating but also empowering. She had already lived a healthy lifestyle but started prioritizing doing so, particularly by socializing more. She’s also making financial and medical decisions for her future self. Her mom and grandmother, who both had Alzheimer’s, were too impaired by the time of their diagnoses to take similar steps.
“One of the most important things to me was to make plans for me while I could,” she says. “My mom and nana never had the opportunity.”
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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