‘All I care about is stopping it’: Iowa man sees success with Alzheimer’s treatment

By Alyx Sacks

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Mike Zuendel is grateful.

“Spending time with my family is precious to me, and I have a really great dog named Francie,” Zuendel said.

He lives his life in the fast lane, literally. Among many hobbies, this dad of five, recently promoted to grandpa, is an off-road desert racer.

“That is a sport for young men, so at 68, I’m proud I’m one of the – generally – one of the oldest people out there,” Zuendel said.

Mike is also living with Alzheimer’s disease.

“My first symptoms were short-term memory loss and word finding and loss of concentration ability, loss of focus,” Zuendel said.

After losing both his parents to the disease and having a front-row seat to watching his dad battle hallucinations and his mom slip away slowly, he got his diagnosis in 2020.

“When I actually did find out, it hit me like a ton of bricks,” Zuendel said.

But it wasn’t going to slow him down because he found out early.

Mike qualified for the recently FDA-approved drug Aduhelm.

“I’m one of the first people in the United States outside of a trial to receive this drug,” he said.

Mike gets IV treatment every four weeks. And it’s working.

His symptoms are improving.

“My doctor has told me that he believes I have had a miraculous recovery from the buildup of amyloid plaque in my brain,” Zuendel said.

Time will tell if his brain can recover from the damage left behind. But putting the brakes on this disease, Mike says, is more than enough for him.

“All I care about is stopping it,” he said.

Now, it’s full speed ahead. And driving others to get checked.

“It does not need to slow you down, it does not need to define you, it does not need to put you into a box, it does not need to push you into a corner,” Zuendel said. “You can live your normal, wonderful happy, contributing life with this disease because we now have real hope, not false hope, not fake hope, we have real hope. And that’s because of this new era of treatment.”

Mike will continue to receive IV treatment every month.

He will also continue his advocacy work.

Right now, Medicare does not cover Aduhelm.

Mike is fighting for equal access for all.

To learn more on how you can join the fight against Alzheimer’s, head to: alz.org

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