R.I.P. Pat Summitt

R.I.P. Pat Summitt June 28, 2016

Pat Summitt, legendary coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, passed away last night at 64 years of age, five years after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Photo by aaronisnotcool via WikiCommons, CC by 2.0
Photo by aaronisnotcool via WikiCommons, CC by 2.0

Summitt’s incredible accomplishments as a basketball coach is the stuff of legend. She was the winningest coach in D-1 basketball history.

I vividly recall when her Alzheimer’s diagnosis was announced, because my mother had been diagnosed several years previous and was in the middle stages of the disease’s progression at that time.

Summitt’s words and her courageous action–continuing to coach her team to yet another championship the year after her diagnosis–was inspiring.

My mom passed away just about a year ago now from complications of the disease. We’ve had many conversations in our family about how awful Alzheimer’s really is. It’s a disease that slowly tears those who suffer from it away from the normalcy and joys of life, long before they physically die.

My heart goes out to the family and loved ones of Pat Summitt. I hope and pray that the medical community finds a cure–sooner than later–for this terrible disease, one that affects so many of us.

 

 

 


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