My husband died from Alzheimers in 2005. The first symptom he exhibited was in 1993, when late one night he asked if his mother was still alive. She had been dead for 5 years. I attributed it to fatigue. In 1995 he was asked to retire from teaching at age 66. Having been transferred to a new school, he was apparently having some trouble remembering everything he needed to function well in a new location, although none of this was mentioned to me. By 1997 it was clear to me he was having short term memory prolems. Otherwise his memory seemed to be functioning as always. By 2002 he could not find his way home if he went out. Six months before he died, when he could no longer speak in sentences, we were watching TV. A well known politician said something outrageous, my husband exclaimed, “BULL SH—”. Although he could no longer speak, he still knew what he thought.
Thus I think it is entirely possible that President Reagan had early Alzheimers in the White House. I also think if he did it had no influence on his opinions and decisions. In the early stages I was able to fully compensate for my husband’s lapses. Reagan had plenty of staff and his wife too do the same I doubt I could have changed my husbands opinions about things and this was probably true for the President as well. I will be interested to learn more about his sons observations to see if I still agree with my off-th-cuff opinion.
The short-term memory loss thing is scary.