Winter brings holidays, chilly weather, and basketball season. In Connecticut, collegiate women\u2019s basketball is a source of pride and joy for thousands of residents. Countless fans across the nation are familiar with the name Pat Summitt. She is known as one of the best coaches in collegiate women\u2019s basketball, having led the University of Tennessee Lady Vols to eight NCAA championships. Summitt is also considered to be one of the best basketball coaches of all time, garnering more wins than any other coach in division 1 history. Her career was defined by strength, toughness, and victory.<\/p>\n
It is now also defined by her courageous decision to publically announce in 2011 that she had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Now in retirement, Summitt penned a 2013 memoir called Sum It Up, which reflects on her memories of the past and her thoughts about her next chapter. She outlines her knowledge of her cognitive changes and growing concerns from friends and family members around the time of her diagnosis. Summitt, a face of a fighting spirit on the basketball court, bravely offers a first-hand account of what it was like to live a life away from the public eye, and battling a devastating disease. She writes, \u201cHave you ever walked along a shoreline, only to have your footprints washed away by the surf? That\u2019s what Alzheimer\u2019s is like. The waves steadily erase the marks we leave in the sand, all the sand castles. Some days are better than others\u2014the waves come in and they recede, bringing a fog with them that sometimes clears.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dementia is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States, and the only one that cannot be prevented, slowed, or cured. There is still an unfortunate trend of misdiagnosis; therefore increased community education is imperative. The epidemic is also characterized by growing costs. Dementia care costs will rise in the United States from $226 billion in 2015 to an estimated $1.1 trillion by 2050. A health care crisis may be present within both private homes and institutionalized settings.<\/p>\n