WYOMING, Ohio — An army veteran from Wyoming is sharing her story after doctors didn't believe she could have Alzheimer's disease at her age.
Connie Langhorst is 69 years old and lives an active life. Despite worries that she couldn't remember once routine activities, her age and lifestyle led to months of frustration before she was diagnosed.
“A lot of people look at me and say, 'There’s nothing wrong with you,'” Langhorst said. “That is the stigma of Alzheimer’s disease."
Her Alzheimer’s journey began with Post-it notes, reminding her to complete daily tasks like walking her dog and working out.
“I put it right there on my nightstand,” said Langhorst, an Army veteran who was once part of the first all-female color guard to raise an American flag at West Point.
Langhorst keeps a blue flower pinned to her shirt.
“That’s the Alzheimer’s flower,” Langhorst said. “That represents people living with the disease. And that’s me.”
See what makes her story unique in the video below:
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, only about half of the people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia say they’ve been told they have it. That means a large portion of Americans with dementia — more than 7 million are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease — might not know they have the disease.
For Langhorst, that changed when she met Dr. Elise Chambers, a physician who also served in the military.
“She saved me,” Langhorst said.
At her job at Christ Hospital in Springfield Township, Chambers occasionally wears purple, a color known to represent Alzheimer's.
“I am just so proud of what (Langhorst) is doing and the message she is carrying,” Chambers said. “Speak up. And if that’s not working, speak up more.”
After a referral to the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute, doctors diagnosed Langhorst with Alzheimer's disease last year.
“It's terrifying,” Langhorst said. "Yet I'm thankful that now I know what I’m dealing with."
Langhorst and her brother still visit Spring Grove Cemetery to see their grandfather's grave. He was a Cincinnati firefighter who died decades ago because of a heart attack after a fire.
The two siblings got tattoos to commemorate him this year. The words "carpe diem" are etched on her and her brother's wrists. Langhorst said it's important for her because she knows there will be a time when she doesn’t remember.
“It is a terminal disease,” Langhorst said. “And at some point, it will claim me and rob me of my most precious memories — but not today."
Connie Langhorst is participating in a large fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association in Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 4. To learn more, or donate to Langhorst's efforts, click here.
If you have a veteran story to tell in your community, email homefront@wcpo.com. You can also find more Homefront stories here.
