Miami football legend Michael Irvin reveals wife has early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Earlier this week Miami football legend Michael Irvin revealed that his wife Sandy has been battling Early-Onset Alzheimer’s disease for five or six years. Irvin told Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Sandy "has trouble walking and speaking and requires 24-hour care with a live-in caretaker."
Irvin and Sandy have been together for 39 years and married for 34. They met while students at Miami. Sandy is 58, but Irvin has no intention of putting her in an assisted living home. Irvin told Hill Jr. “If anyone has earned the right to stay in her house, MY WIFE HAS!!!...That I shall honor. No matter what it takes.”
About 200,000 people in the United States develop Early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. Former Tennessee Women's basketball coach Pat Summit is among the most famous people who had Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Summit died in 2016 at 64.
Per the Indiana University School of Medicine via Hill Jr's article "The average life expectancy for an individual diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s is between eight and 12 years." Early Onset Alzheimer's is thought to be more aggressive and faster progressing than traditional Alzheimers or dementia.
Heartbreaking: #Cowboys icon Michael Irvin says that his wife has Alzheimer’s disease.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 18, 2024
“If anyone has earned the right to stay in her house, MY WIFE HAS!!! That I shall honor. No matter what it takes,” 88 said
At only 58, Sandy has been battling the disease for five years💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/sVcP0eWL5I
Irvin decided to make Sandy's diagnosis public at his recently opened Playmakers88 sports bar in the Dallas Metroplex. The recently hired chef at Playmakers88 makes Sandy's favorite chicken wings. Irvin currently appears occasionally as a guest host on Fox Sports 1's debate show Undisputed. Irvin has previously appeared on ESPN and the NFL Network.
Irvin left Miami after playing for the Hurricanes from 1985 through 1987 with program records of 143 receptions, 2,423 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. Irvin is now fifth in Miami history in receptions, third in receiving yards and still holds the all-time TD reception record.
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Irvin played all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas won three Superbowls with Irvin forming one-third of the triplets with quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith. Irvin became the fourth Miami football alum inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.