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Former NFL player Michael Irvin opens for his role as a carer for his wife, Sandy Harrell.
“This is so difficult on families because every family member loves the ill,” Irvin, 59, shared on the episode on Wednesday, September 3, of the “Club Shay Shay” podcast. “They think they know what’s best. You argue about treatment and who is going to look after it and this thing requires an anointing.”
Harrell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in early his early 50s.
In revealing his first wife’s diagnosis in a June 2024 interview with the Star-Telegram Fort WorthIrvin said Harrell was struggling to walk and talk. As a result, she needs 24 hour care.
“I can’t do 24 hours a day every day so I have to get help,” he told the host podcast Shannon Sharpe. “I pray for everyone out there who deals with it.”
Back John Hopkins MedicineAlzheimer’s disease most commonly affects older adults. When Alzheimer’s disease occurs in someone younger than 65, it is called Alzheimer’s disease that starts early.
Early symptoms include changes in moods and personality, memory loss and trouble solving basic problems such as keeping track of bills or following a favorite recipe.
“We recognize that some things go wrong with about 10 years ago, in fact,” Irvin explained. “I buried my mother. She had Alzheimer’s. My mother-in-law lived with us because she had Alzheimer’s. And we looked after her. And now we thought my wife was going through menopause at 49 because she became 50.”
Irvin said his wife can sometimes take her “agitation” out on the medical staff who help him. Harrell’s changes in mood make it difficult for their family to keep the nurses they hire.
“I have to keep a 24 -hour nurse with her all the time,” she said before revealing what happens when Harrell goes physically. “They pull that nurse out, send another nurse and they put on more payments.”
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Irvin and Harrell met at college and have been married since 1990. They share four children together: Myesha, 35, Chelsea, 29, Michael Jr., 28, and Elias, 27.
Through all the highs and lows of the disease, Irvin stands according to his decision to allow his wife to remain in her own residence.
“She, if anyone, has won the right to be in her home,” she said. “No matter what, she’ll be at her home.”
