Golf analyst Peter Oosterhuis turned the focus of sports fans and professionals toward Alzheimer’s disease when he publicly announced his diagnosis in May.
Oosterhuis began his professional golf career in 1968 and went on to play in the Ryder Cup six times. He later worked as a sportscaster for 20 years before retiring in January. According to an article from The Associated Press, Oosterhuis and his wife, Roothie, chose to tell no one when they first learned of his diagnosis last year. After several months, however, they decided to go public. One of the reasons, Roothie Oosterhuis said, was that “even though we don’t like the cards we were dealt, we are now ready to play them. Because we are basically happy people, and we can still have happiness.”
Oosterhuis and his wife, Roothie, made the announcement at a fundraiser for the Nantz National Alzheimer Center, which is housed here in town at the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute. The NNAC was founded in 2011 through a partnership with Jim Nantz, who is also a golf analyst and who became closely affected by Alzheimer’s disease when his father was diagnosed. Nantz has since been active in his efforts to raise awareness and funds for the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease research.
While Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 5 million other Americans, Peter Oosterhuis’s decision to go public with his diagnosis might help bring attention toward the challenges that so many families face. When making the announcement, Roothie Oosterhuis told the audience, “It’s been told to us by a doctor…that Peter’s name would help in raising money for Alzheimer’s because he’s brilliant, and he’s had a storied career, and people love him.”
Follow this link for the full article from The Associated Press: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2c61ae6518df4458b59f40a417aa2499/golfs-peter-oosterhuis-says-he-has-early-onset-alzheimers
Listen to Peter and Roothie Oosterhuis announce his diagnosis here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wtUYpd86Ms
To learn more about the Nantz National Alzheimer Center, visit: http://www.houstonmethodist.org/NantzNationalAlzheimerCenter
– Sarah Godwin
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