Couple got closer after Alzheimer's diagnosis


In a strange way, sometimes the news that a spouse has Alzheimer's disease can be a sigh of relief.


Bill and Julie Penick lost their home in Hurricane Katrina and, for the first time in 43 years, found themselves arguing with each other a lot more frequently, USA Today reports.


"We had gone through the wringer after Katrina, and we were both kind of depressed.


Couple got closer after Alzheimer's diagnosis We lost our house - a lot of important things to us were destroyed," Bill, a 68-year-old retired lawyer, told the newspaper.


After a marriage counselor suggested Julie get checked out by a neurologist, the couple found out Julie had Alzheimer's and that it was the disease causing the arguments, according to the article.


The Penicks are "lucky," in the sense they caught the disease early. While there is no cure for the debilitating disease, the best weapon against Alzheimer's is early detection.


In honor of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, many facilities are offering free memory screening tests. An estimated 5.2 million people in the U.S. are currently living with Alzheimer's disease.


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