A 47-year-old mom who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease has revealed some of the warning signs she noticed.
Staci Marklin, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, first sensed that something was off back in 2024, but had no idea it would be as serious as it turned out.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological health condition which can impact memory and recognition, and is one of the biggest causes of dementia.
At the time, Staci’s son Gunnar was just two years old, so the new mom initially put the symptoms down to pregnancy and having ‘mom brain’ post-partum.
Unfortunately, the signs were actually an early symptom of something else.
It was subtle at first, with Staci noticing that she was starting to switch words around for particular things.
Staci Marklin had only recently become a mom when she started getting symptoms (SWNS)
She explained: “It’s hard to say when the symptoms actually started because I was having them when I was pregnant and post-partum with my son.
“I initially brushed the forgetfulness on pregnancy and postpartum mom brain.
“I would say stuff like ‘move the carpet’ instead of ‘move the curtain’.”
At first, this didn’t seem like much, but things began to get worse.
“There would be times when things would just disappear from my brain,” said Staci.
“Someone once asked me about a co-worker, and I had absolutely no idea who they were talking about.
“I could tell it was someone I should know by the way they were talking.
“It was a few days later when I realized it was a co-worker that I had worked really closely with.”
Staci then started to consider Alzheimer’s as her grandmother was diagnosed with the disease. However, a doctor apparently said her chances of having it would be ‘rare’ at her age.
Staci now hopes to make as many memories as she can with her family (SWNS)
After undergoing a series of tests, Staci was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in October 2024, with an amyloid PET scan revealing amyloid plaques in her brain.
She admitted: “By the time I was getting these tests, I had already stopped working and I knew something was wrong.”
Her cognitive function level came back in the bottom zero percent to 10 percent expected for her age group.
Staci added: “I saw the result and knew what it meant.
“I was with my husband at the time and we were in shock.
“We cried together and knew nothing would ever be the same again.”
Now, Staci – who recently started a new treatment, lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi – has spoken out about the stigma faced by patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
“People generally see this as an older person’s disease and view people with Alzheimer’s as if they can’t do anything for themselves,” she said.
“It was difficult for me to get people to believe me and to trust the results I had gotten.”
The mom has been making TikTok videos for her family to remember her by, which also includes her husband of almost 16 years, Erik, 46, and step-daughter, Rylee, 21.
If you’ve been affected by dementia or Alzheimer’s and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact the Alzheimer’s Association via 800.272.3900 open 24 hours seven days a week.
Single mom, 29, diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease reveals symptoms she’s noticed
Erin Kelly received the early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis earlier this year
A 29-year-old mother from Australia has opened up about a devastating early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis and detailed the symptoms she’s noticed.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s is the name given to to anyone who is diagnosed with the disease before the age of 65, though you certainly don’t expect people in their 20s to have Alzheimer’s.
Erin Kelly was told she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in June, amid a family history of the health condition.
“My [mom] died of Alzheimer’s when she was 50,” Kelly told 7News. “The disease took my grandfather at 45, and my aunt when she was the same age. I just didn’t think it would come for me so soon.”
Scans have already revealed first signs of damage to Kelly’s neurons, cells in the brain that send messages to the rest of the body.
And Kelly is already starting to experience some symptoms of the disease despite her early diagnosis.
Erin Kelly was shocked to receive the diagnosis (GoFundMe)
Speaking further to 7News, Kelly added: “I’ve started to notice small changes already. Forgetting words and mixing words together. I’ll be thinking of something, and I’ll just mush the words together. It’s things I didn’t do previously.”
Kelly knows she will have to tell her eight-year-old daughter Evie at some point, but given her age, it’s not something she wants to bring up just yet.
“We’re not exactly sure how or what to tell her yet. She’s still so young,” Kelly added to 7News. “She will get some information, but we want to protect her for as long as we can.
“The goal is to see her finish school, get married. I want to make sure she’s an adult before I die.”
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia include memory loss that disrupts daily life, difficulty completing familiar tasks and confusion with time or place.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s is the name given to to anyone who is diagnosed with the disease before the age of 65 (Getty Stock Photo)
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Kelly’s stepsister, Jessica Simpson, who is hoping to raise cash for treatment to enable the single mom to spend more time with her young daughter.
The fundraiser states: “There is a treatment called Leqembi. It’s not a cure, but it could slow the progression and give Erin more time — to keep working, keep functioning, and most importantly, keep being Evie’s [mom] for as long as she can.
“But this medication isn’t available through the public system [in Australia] and is incredibly expensive.”
If you’ve been affected by dementia or Alzheimer’s and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact the Alzheimer’s Association via 800.272.3900 open 24 hours seven days a week.
TV presenter diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease reveals the first symptoms she noticed
Fiona Phillips detailed her early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis back in 2023
A British TV presenter has detailed the first symptoms she noticed before being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s is the name given to to anyone who is diagnosed with the devastating disease before the age of 65.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia include memory loss that disrupts daily life, difficulty completing familiar tasks and confusion with time or place.
Journalist Fiona Phillips – who once headed up the British breakfast TV show GMTV – detailed her early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis in July 2023 and has spoken openly about it since.
Alongside her husband Martin Frizell – who also worked in TV before recently stepping down as editor from ITV’s This Morning to care for his wife – the pair have lifted the lid on family life in the new memoir, Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer’s.
Martin Frizell recently quit his TV job to care for his wife, Fiona Phillips, who has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
In a new article for the Daily Mail, Phillips revealed that she initially blamed the menopause for her symptoms.
“The anxiety attacks became more frequent until they were almost hourly,” the former TV presenter said. “Around this time lots of women in the public eye, such as Davina McCall and Gabby Logan, were discussing the menopause in a way it had never previously been talked about. It felt like the pieces were falling into place – why hadn’t anyone told me before how debilitating the menopause could be?
“But I didn’t have the hot flushes that a lot of women complain about. For me it was the sense of brain fog and a sense of anxiety that I could rarely shake off.”
The 64-year-old added: “The simplest thing, like going to the bank to ask about my account, would send me into a total panic, and there were mood swings too, which meant even I was finding my behaviour unpredictable.
“And yet, despite not wanting to be like that, I couldn’t do anything about it. I felt I’d lost control over my life.”
Fiona Phillips and her husband, Martin Frizell, pictured in 2005 (J.Tregidgo/WireImage)
Frizell also provided his thoughts in the feature, offering the ‘brutal admission’ that he wished his wife had been diagnosed with cancer instead.
He said: “It’s a shocking thing to say, but at least then she might have had a chance of a cure, and certainly would have had a treatment pathway and an array of support and care packages.
“But that’s not there for Alzheimer’s. Just like there are no funny or inspiring TikTok videos or fashion shoots with smiling, healthy, in-remission survivors,’ he reflected, adding that post-diagnosis you are just ‘left to cope alone.”
Frizell now takes cares for his wife, explaining that he helps Phillips ‘brush her teeth and shower’, as well as dress herself.
