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Finding friendship after an early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis

Jim Hursey, Dennis Myers and Mike Razzi met at a support group for people with early-onset Alzheimer's. They formed a close friendship and dubbed themselves, "The Optimistics." Credit: The Greater Maryland Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
Jim Hursey, Dennis Myers and Mike Razzi met at a support group for people with early-onset Alzheimer's. They formed a close friendship and dubbed themselves, "The Optimistics." Credit: The Greater Maryland Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

While it's rare for Alzheimer’s disease to be diagnosed in people under age 65, it happens. It’s hard to track, but research suggests between 220,000 and 640,000 people in the U.S. are living with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Yolanda Wright is the program manager for the Greater Maryland Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. She describes benefits of support groups for care partners and people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

And we meet three men who all have been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s: Dennis Myers, Jim Hursey, and Mike Razzi. They met at a support group, formed a deep friendship, and have dubbed themselves, “The Optimistics.”

The Alzheimer’s Association’s 24/7 helpline is 1.800.272.3900. Find a local support group.

This program originally aired November 1, 2022.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'