EP 75 :: Early Onset Dementia – Keep on Living :: Tony Copeland-Parker
Tony Copeland-Parker talks with Bobbi and Mike about traveling around the world with, and caring for, his partner Catherine, who has early onset dementia. Up to 5 percent of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s have younger onset dementia.
Tony Copeland-Parker was a professional pilot/manager for 37 years. When he retired, he began writing his blog, PlayHard-HaveFun.com. Since then, he and his partner Catherine have traveled to 82 different countries. They have run at least a half-marathon in thirty-five countries and on all seven continents. When Tony and his partner Catherine were in their 50’s, they found that he needed a heart-valve replacement, and she had early-onset Alzheimer’s. They both had a history as endurance athletes, so their reaction to the news was to sell their home, retire from their jobs, and become nomads, running marathons and half- marathons all over the world.
“It's amazing the number of conversations that we've had with folks where you will be sitting around the table, talking, and they start to notice something a bit odd, you know, about Catherine,” Tony explains. “So she just straight-up says, ‘I just want you to know I've early onset dementia and I might be a bit confused when you ask me a question.’ The conversation then turns to others talking about their aunt, uncle, mother, or sister who has dementia. This disease permeates throughout society.”
Many people with early onset are in their 40s and 50s. They have families, careers, or are even caregivers themselves when Alzheimer's disease strikes.
“A lot of people look at early onset Alzheimer's as a death sentence. But they are forgetting about the 12 years or so that they are going to have after the diagnosis. Catherine’s been like this for seven years, and you know, she's going be around for quite a while,” Tony says. “I've heard that she's probably going to die from something else, so we might as well just go ahead and make the best of it, and that's what we're trying to do.”
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