THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 8, 1994 TAG: 9411080333
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
When Hazel Chapman heard the news about former President Ronald Reagan on Sunday night, she just cried. Not so much for the 83-year-old Reagan, who had just announced he was suffering from Alzheimer's. But for his wife, Nancy, because Hazel knows all too well the devastating effect Alzheimer's has on the victim's family.
Hazel's own husband, Tom Chapman of Virginia Beach, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's three years ago, at age 49. His deterioration, chronicled in The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star this summer, was quick and merciless. Alzheimer's, a progressive, irreversible brain disease with no known cure, is characterized by confusion, forgetfulness and eventually dementia.
In June, when Hazel, unable to care for him at home any longer, put Tom in Sentara Nursing Home in Virginia Beach, he could still communicate, use the bathroom and feed himself. He enjoyed attending an adult day-care program three days a week, and visiting with his wife and 13-year-old daughter, Angie.
Now, four months later, Tom can barely walk, can't use the bathroom, feed himself or talk. ``The only word he can say is `Hi,' '' Hazel said.
During Tom's last visit to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., doctors told Hazel she didn't need to schedule his February visit. They doubt he'll be alive then. Soon, they told her, he'll forget how to swallow. Then he'll probably breathe food particles into his lungs and die of pneumonia. Hazel plans no life-support for Tom, and he will receive no medications, not even antibiotics. ``He's suffered enough,'' she said, crying. ``It's time for it to end.''
She plans to write Nancy Reagan a letter expressing her sorrow for her husband's diagnosis and warning her what to expect.
Locally, officials at the Hampton Roads chapter of the Alzheimer's Association were hard at work Monday fielding calls from the media and the public, getting out the message that Reagan did a wonderful thing in coming forward.
``This will help others step out and confront the prejudice that people with Alzheimer's still have to deal with all the time,'' said Tim Farabaugh, executive director. ``To have a prominent figure step out and say, `I've got it,' puts a different twist on how to view the situation.''
Farabaugh predicts the publicity generated by Reagan's announcement will translate into increased funding for research. The disease affects an estimated 4 million Americans, 14,000 in Hampton Roads.
Research into the genetic causes of Alzheimer's, the type that most likely affects Tom Chapman, has been very promising, Farabaugh said. In a Virginia Beach forum last week, Duke University researcher Ann Saunders said recent breakthroughs mean a medication to delay the onset of Alzheimer's in high-risk individuals is possible in the near future. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Tom Chapman of Virginia Beach was diagnosed with Alzheimer's three
years ago.
KEYWORDS: ALZHEIMER DISEASE by CNB