Pat Summit Diagnosed with Dementia

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Tennessee Lady Vols' Pat Summitt has early onset dementia - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/6888321/tennessee-lady-vols-pat-summitt-early-onset-dementia)

Really sad news. She put women's basketball on the map. And anybody who wins as much as she did and as consistently as she did has to be considered a great coach. Hope she can pull through this.

[wade moore]

:( :( :( :(

[stevew]

I might be wrong, but i'm pretty sure there is no way to "pull through" dementia. You can only hope to contain it.

[digamma]

This is nasty, nasty, nasty. A close friend's mom is just a few years older than Summitt and has gone through a rapid decline over the last 3 years. Really tough stuff.

[GrantDawg]

This is nasty, nasty, nasty. A close friend's mom is just a few years older than Summitt and has gone through a rapid decline over the last 3 years. Really tough stuff.


My mom is now. She's only 66.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm still stunned by this several hours later. Of all the people in the world ... just damn.

She'll fight it for all she's worth, that much I'm certain about, and do everything she can to hold it at bay for as long as possible but the clock & calendar are truly her enemies.

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

I really thought she would be someone with a whole host of unbreakable records. Before this, I thought she would be coaching for ten years more at least, now who knows. The whole thing is very sad.

[RainMaker]

Terribly sad news. Just a horrible disease.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Pat Summit just stepped down. Tough decision no doubt.

[JPhillips]

It's a shame to see her career end like this. I had a HS gym teacher with early onset dementia and within three years of diagnosis he couldn't recognize his wife. Terrible way to go.

[Poli]

My heart hurts for her. After the news, I donated quite a bit to her foundation...I'll continue to do so.

[stevew]

This is nasty, nasty, nasty. A close friend's mom is just a few years older than Summitt and has gone through a rapid decline over the last 3 years. Really tough stuff.

Yeah I see ALZ every day and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Essentially they become Zombies. You look at guys in their early 70s who go from being ass kickers to being nothing.

[Lathum]

I'm not a huge ESPY guy but the piece they just did on her was pretty powerful and very well done

[Poli]

They showed a video of her through the years at the Georgia game last year...I think between the 1st and 2nd quarters...and I nearly cried. My wife did.