Ronald Reagan had a tightknit relationship with the people of the U.S. He was frequently on television or radio talking about contemporary issues, so it was not a complete surprise that he decided to inform the public of his diagnosis, no matter how personal it was. Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer at the age of eighty-three. He announced this to the public on November 5th 1994 with a hand-written letter that tugged on everyone’s heartstrings. In the letter, he wrote, “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life, I know that for America There will always be a bright Dawn ahead” (Rothman). Reagan was very open about his diagnoses as he had been for a long time, even when he and his wife both endured cancer surgeries.
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Ever since his passing, a lot of controversy has sparked in regards to Reagan and Alzheimer, including his son Ron Reagan saying that his father had been diagnosed even sooner than 1994 (when it was originally announced). Ron proceeds to explain “Surgeons opening his skull to relieve pressure on the brain emerged from the operating room with the news that they had detected what they took to be probable signs of Alzheimer’s disease” (Bedard). It is said that this surgery took place after Regan suffered a fall from a horse in 1989. Some speculate that after they received this information, Reagan later went to Mayo Clinic where it was confirmed that he had Alzheimer (Bedard). There, however, is no evidence of this visit to the hospital. When the letter written by Reagan was published, it was published alongside a letter from his doctor. The letter basically stated that Reagan had been diagnosed recently after being tested and observed for a year (Gordon). The doctor also proceeded to say that Reagan’s health was stable but that in the approaching years, it would take a …show more content…
They have come to the conclusion that over time, Reagans’ speech patterns had taken a toll and that they were a sign of Alzheimer. Near the end of his presidency, Reagan acted differently than he had when his term began. His vocabulary had also taken a toll, “Use of repetitive words and replacing specific nouns with terms like ‘thing’ increased towards the end of Reagan’s presidency, and his use of unique words also declined” (Study: Reagan Speech patterns show early signs of Alzheimer’s while in office). Cases like Reagan’s are leading researchers to discover more things and create more awareness for the illness, which is what Reagan intended to do by being so public about his
Ever since his passing, a lot of controversy has sparked in regards to Reagan and Alzheimer, including his son Ron Reagan saying that his father had been diagnosed even sooner than 1994 (when it was originally announced). Ron proceeds to explain “Surgeons opening his skull to relieve pressure on the brain emerged from the operating room with the news that they had detected what they took to be probable signs of Alzheimer’s disease” (Bedard). It is said that this surgery took place after Regan suffered a fall from a horse in 1989. Some speculate that after they received this information, Reagan later went to Mayo Clinic where it was confirmed that he had Alzheimer (Bedard). There, however, is no evidence of this visit to the hospital. When the letter written by Reagan was published, it was published alongside a letter from his doctor. The letter basically stated that Reagan had been diagnosed recently after being tested and observed for a year (Gordon). The doctor also proceeded to say that Reagan’s health was stable but that in the approaching years, it would take a …show more content…
They have come to the conclusion that over time, Reagans’ speech patterns had taken a toll and that they were a sign of Alzheimer. Near the end of his presidency, Reagan acted differently than he had when his term began. His vocabulary had also taken a toll, “Use of repetitive words and replacing specific nouns with terms like ‘thing’ increased towards the end of Reagan’s presidency, and his use of unique words also declined” (Study: Reagan Speech patterns show early signs of Alzheimer’s while in office). Cases like Reagan’s are leading researchers to discover more things and create more awareness for the illness, which is what Reagan intended to do by being so public about his