Wife Of Former Football Star Who Had Alzheimer’s Speaks In Milwaukee

Sylvia Mackey, the wife of a former NFL football player who had Alzheimer’s, spoke on Tuesday in Milwaukee for Minority Health Month.

Long before John Mackey died in 2011 at age 69, he was a football star inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Back then, Mackey’s mind worked as well as his body. But in his mid-50s, his wife Sylvia says he began exhibiting strange, even bizarre, behavior.

Sylvia Mackey said the eventual diagnosis of Alzheimer’s was a relief. In a speech sponsored by the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, she suggested one way a caregiver can cope is to avoid disagreements where very little is at stake.

“If he says it’s snowing outside and it’s not, yes it is,” said Mackey. “What difference does it really make? You’re keeping the peace and making them happy.”

Geriatric specialist Dr. Michael Malone also spoke at the forum. He says Alzheimer’s research should be a priority in a country that’s aging, “so that we have the same strength as our colleagues who developed strategies to improve the care of folks with HIV,” he said. “We need the same kind of push and advocacy.”

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute says the federal government is currently spending a half-billion dollars a year on Alzheimer’s research. This is significantly less than what is spent on cancer, heart disease, and HIV and AIDS.