Pat Summitt RIP

[aswewere]

What a lady. http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/16532907/pat-summitt-supported-athletes-coaches-sports-amid-report-declining-health

Cut. will always have her back.

[OldPhiKap]

What a lady. http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/16532907/pat-summitt-supported-athletes-coaches-sports-amid-report-declining-health

Cut. will always have her back.

Thanks for starting this thread.

Cut tweeted support earlier, as you would expect.

Prayers for Pat and family.

[Billy Dat]

For any MDs on the board, or those with AD experience, I found this news kind of surprising as one of the insidious aspects of AD is that patients tend to live long past the deterioration of their memory and other key cognitive abilities. It feels like Coach Summit is going to die a lot faster than I thought she would - this is probably much more merciful in the long run but I would think that it can't be the AD alone that is killing her right now. Any thoughts?

[JBDuke]

For any MDs on the board, or those with AD experience, I found this news kind of surprising as one of the insidious aspects of AD is that patients tend to live long past the deterioration of their memory and other key cognitive abilities. It feels like Coach Summit is going to die a lot faster than I thought she would - this is probably much more merciful in the long run but I would think that it can't be the AD alone that is killing her right now. Any thoughts?

I'm not an MD, but my mom has Alzheimer's. Hers wasn't "early onset" like Coach Summitt's, but she was diagnosed in 2011 when she was just 69. After her diagnosis, she lived with my father in their transitional facility until January 2015, when my father (who has physical, but not mental issues) could no longer take care of her. They just recently had to move her to full nursing care, as she was no longer able to meet the care requirements for merely assisted living. Many patients linger in that "assistive" phase for years, but my mom was there for less than 18 months.

My understanding of the disease's progression is that it is different for every patient. Coach Summitt's path has been quick - she was diagnosed just over five years ago in 2011 and resigned a year later. My mom's path has been relatively quick as well - just five years or so after her diagnosis, she can no longer take care of herself in hardly any capacity, can't converse meaningfully, and doesn't remember her family members. Others plateau at various stages of incapacity, perhaps multiple times. But there's no coming back - at least not yet.

[Newton_14]

For any MDs on the board, or those with AD experience, I found this news kind of surprising as one of the insidious aspects of AD is that patients tend to live long past the deterioration of their memory and other key cognitive abilities. It feels like Coach Summit is going to die a lot faster than I thought she would - this is probably much more merciful in the long run but I would think that it can't be the AD alone that is killing her right now. Any thoughts? That had always been my understanding of the disease as well. I have an aunt on my mom's side that has had AD for probably 10+ years now, and up until recently, she was physically as healthy as a lark. Just had no clue who any of us are including her only living sibling (another sister. my mom passed in 1991)


I'm not an MD, but my mom has Alzheimer's. Hers wasn't "early onset" like Coach Summitt's, but she was diagnosed in 2011 when she was just 69. After her diagnosis, she lived with my father in their transitional facility until January 2015, when my father (who has physical, but not mental issues) could no longer take care of her. They just recently had to move her to full nursing care, as she was no longer able to meet the care requirements for merely assisted living. Many patients linger in that "assistive" phase for years, but my mom was there for less than 18 months.

My understanding of the disease's progression is that it is different for every patient. Coach Summitt's path has been quick - she was diagnosed just over five years ago in 2011 and resigned a year later. My mom's path has been relatively quick as well - just five years or so after her diagnosis, she can no longer take care of herself in hardly any capacity, can't converse meaningfully, and doesn't remember her family members. Others plateau at various stages of incapacity, perhaps multiple times. But there's no coming back - at least not yet.
This is helpful JB, thanks and very sorry both of your parents are ailing, albeit in different ways. My mother-in-law was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's Dementia earlier this year. Her mind went fast. She still knows and recognizes her immediate family, grandkids, me, and most of her closer friends, but she can no longer reason, follow conversations, or understand certain things.. not sure how to describe that last part, sorry, searching for the correct words... For example, my wife, her older sister who lives at home with their parents, and my kids just came back from a 10 day trip to their home town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My mother-in-law was not able to fully understand they were on the trip. She would ask my father-in-law or me where everyone was, so she did comprehend they were gone, but really had no clue the entire time, they were on a trip. Also, when my wife and crew would call and talk to their parents while on the trip, her mom would tell them that "the girl that lives with us and helps take care of us is on vacation and won't be back for awhile". Both my inlaws came over tonight to be here when my wife and crew got home from the 10 day trip and she asked me twice where the kids were and twice if my wife had gotten home from work yet. It is just a very sad deal and awful disease. She was once sharp as a whit and now can barely carry on a rational conversation. It's really hard to stomach sometimes. We have to keep a good sense of humor and laugh at some of the things she says to keep from crying and losing our minds...

Awful disease.

Edit: Forgot to add she is a 3 Time Cancer Survivor. Cancer is totally gone but now this. Heart wrenching...

[subzero02]

RIP Pat Summit... dead at 64.

[johnb]

For any MDs on the board, or those with AD experience, I found this news kind of surprising as one of the insidious aspects of AD is that patients tend to live long past the deterioration of their memory and other key cognitive abilities. It feels like Coach Summit is going to die a lot faster than I thought she would - this is probably much more merciful in the long run but I would think that it can't be the AD alone that is killing her right now. Any thoughts?

It's sad that she passed away.

I work with Alzheimers patients every day and have had multiple relatives die with it.

From a medical standpoint, the average person is diagnosed several years after the actual onset of clinical symptoms of the disease and well after there are pathological findings. She retired within a year of the actual dx, but there were likely symptoms that were overlooked because-while she was still coaching--she had a lot of handlers and staff, plus lots of people simply wouldn't want to take a serious look at the slips of a loved one. In a small way, her issues resemble Reagan's in that he had dementia symptoms well before his diagnosis was recognized and/or announced.

The average person dies a little under a decade after the onset of the disease, but the typical range is broad (3-20 years). Dying is usually from complications of poor swallowing (pneumonia) or falls rather than a direct neurological insult.

Younger people actually live longer than older people, which speaks to the fact/tragedy that it's not specifically the Alzheimers that generally kills you (old people are likely to die sooner in general than younger people), but that by the time you've died, most of "you" is already gone.

I'd also add that the memory stuff is the most widely discussed, but often the more upsetting details are the other symptoms, like personality changes, inertia, etc.

I guess one could say that, in her case, at least she didn't have to deal directly with her son's embarrassment. Otoh, maybe he wouldn't have behaved badly if she'd been more cognitively able to keep him in line. Of course, that's a whole other story but relevant in that the illness can often have a significant effect on the person's loved ones.

[wandalee]

http://www.wbir.com/life/people/pat-summitt/legendary-tennessee-lady-vols-coach-pat-summitt-dies-at-age-64/257939797

Here's a video summarizing her accomplishments.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

My most vivid memory of her is the time she was wired with a mic when bringing her team to play in Cameron. Coming onto the floor we could hear her remark to the person beside her, "There's no place like this is there!?"
Love, Ima

[RepoMan]

Check out this article that copies a letter she wrote to a Freshman before her first game: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/widely-beloved-pat-summitt-was-cherished-most-by-those-who-saw-her-complexities/2016/06/28/581a391a-3d2e-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html

[DevilWearsPrada]

My most vivid memory of her is the time she was wired with a mic when bringing her team to play in Cameron. Coming onto the floor we could hear her remark to the person beside her, "There's no place like this is there!?"
Love, Ima

No place like Cameron Indoor Stadium!

I was in attendance for the Duke TN Girls Basketball game!!! Candace Parker was on the team, then.

Rest in Peace Coach Summitt! What a legacy she created at the University of Tennessee !!!!

[Troublemaker]

RIP, Coach Summit. You're a legend.

http://vault-cdn.si.com/SI_ISSUE_IMAGES/Sports%20Illustrated/2011/12/20111212/Sports_Illustrated_1008508_20111212-001-2048.jpg

[Tripping William]

Not surprisingly, high praise (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_B7UiGHg4I&feature=youtu.be) from Coach K.

[weezie]

My most vivid memory of her is the time she was wired with a mic when bringing her team to play in Cameron. Coming onto the floor we could hear her remark to the person beside her, "There's no place like this is there!?"
Love, Ima

That's pretty neat Ima.

Godspeed Coach Summitt. I hope she's making the same comment 'upstairs.'

[rocketeli]

It's sad that she passed away.

I work with Alzheimers patients every day and have had multiple relatives die with it.

From a medical standpoint, the average person is diagnosed several years after the actual onset of clinical symptoms of the disease and well after there are pathological findings. She retired within a year of the actual dx, but there were likely symptoms that were overlooked because-while she was still coaching--she had a lot of handlers and staff, plus lots of people simply wouldn't want to take a serious look at the slips of a loved one. In a small way, her issues resemble Reagan's in that he had dementia symptoms well before his diagnosis was recognized and/or announced.

The average person dies a little under a decade after the onset of the disease, but the typical range is broad (3-20 years). Dying is usually from complications of poor swallowing (pneumonia) or falls rather than a direct neurological insult.

Younger people actually live longer than older people, which speaks to the fact/tragedy that it's not specifically the Alzheimers that generally kills you (old people are likely to die sooner in general than younger people), but that by the time you've died, most of "you" is already gone.

I'd also add that the memory stuff is the most widely discussed, but often the more upsetting details are the other symptoms, like personality changes, inertia, etc.

I guess one could say that, in her case, at least she didn't have to deal directly with her son's embarrassment. Otoh, maybe he wouldn't have behaved badly if she'd been more cognitively able to keep him in line. Of course, that's a whole other story but relevant in that the illness can often have a significant effect on the person's loved ones.


The truth is that there is no such thing as Alzheimer’s disease at least as the general public uses the term.
Some history. Around 1910 or so a German doctor named Alzheimer had a patient die in middle age after a few year course of progressive dementia and behavioral disturbances. By chance, her brain was sectioned and stained with the newer (at the time) stains available and inside the cells were abnormal formations of gunk. Aha, Dr Alzheimer, speculated, these pathological findings may be associated with or cause these symptoms. He was of course, dead wrong—the findings with later study turned out to be present in a lot of cells, under a lot of conditions. For some reason this little story of misdiagnosis captured the public imagination about 30 years ago, and people began speaking of “Alzheimer’s disease” where they would have previously have send “senility.” It’s sort of like the Piltown man of neuroscience, except with no hoaxing.
Undoubtedly, a big factor in the popularity of the concept lay in the idea that senility was not inevitable, but rather the result of some discrete disease process. Eventually, the term “Alzheimer’s disease” has come to describe any kind of senility especially in the elderly, which is another trait the original case didn’t share.
Of the several hundred mostly elderly severely demented patients I have taken care of, 90% had dementia that was vascularly related. Although they would be diagnosed with “Alzheimer’s” by the families and practitioners and indeed often meet DSM/ICD criteria, their dementia was caused by diffuse small vessel failure in context of long term diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis, often on top of lower baseline cognition, repeated hits to the head, and substance use. The other 10% had had strokes or Parkinson’s disease. This situation, BTW, is pretty much an “open secret” in the clinically savvy neuroscience community, but if people are giving out grant money for “Alzheimer’s disease", hey, what’s in a name?
Now, I have never examined Coach Summit and know nothing of her actual medical history, so in the following I can only speak of generalities. A situation where you have a younger person with a noticeable quickly progressive dementia is a completely different thing from the senile dementia above. Sometimes (speaking only of generalities here) it is due to severe substance use, typically alcohol or else severe head trauma. There are also all kinds of obscure horrible neurodegenerative diseases you can get. Some are hereditary and some you can catch like “mad cow disease.” Such disease do have various pathognomic markers as well, and some researchers study these.
The fact that people tend to use the term “Alzheimer’s Disease” and also to assume they are talking or hearing of specific disease entity, rather than the latest name for a syndrome is what is confusing when you read about cases like Coach Summitt’s.

[ipatent]

Great coach, amazing she had all those wins even before she turned 60.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Really impressed with the coverage today and the personal testimonials of people she reached. Amazing woman, amazing coach, amazing person.

[OldPhiKap]

From a UT fan to me:

6482

[Reilly]

... amazing she had all those wins even before she turned 60.

I believe I read that Pat had already been the head coach at Tennessee for a couple years when she participated in the 1976 Olympics as a player. Given that precedent, K should have named UVa's Tony Bennett to the Olympic team rather than Barnes.

[jv001]

Prayers for her family. A very good coach and seemed to be even better person. God bless you Coach.

[captmojo]

Sorry to lose her. The game of basketball loses, as does her family.
May God rest her soul.
What a player!
What a coach!
What an educator!
What a woman!