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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 1:39 a.m., Saturday, June 16, 2007

For 49ers coach Nolan, Father's Day a difficult time

By Dennis Georgatos
San Jose Mercury News

Mike Nolan plans to phone his dad on Sunday and wish him the best on Father's Day, like he always does. But there's a difference this year.

"I don't know if he'll recognize me, but I'll call him still," the 49ers' coach said.

Dick Nolan, the first half of the only father-son tandem to coach the same NFL team, is losing ground in his battle with Alzheimer's disease, with his recent failures to recognize even his closest family members the most telling and heartbreaking indicator.

The elder Nolan has struggled for several years with Alzheimer's. The disease attacks nerve cells in the brain, destroying memory and the ability to think clearly and perform daily tasks, from brushing teeth to remembering which key unlocks the front door.

During the past year, Mike Nolan said, his father's condition has degenerated, compounded by a worsening case of prostate cancer.

"Last summer, the 49ers' alumni here held a reunion for him, and that was great," Nolan said. "He was still able to communicate with all the guys and know who was who. But right now, he wouldn't know those same guys.

"It's been difficult. It has been most difficult for mom and for my three siblings who live in Dallas, because they're around Dad every day."

Nolan and his wife, Kathy, have traveled to Dallas twice in the past four months. On the most recent trip four weeks ago, Nolan, along with his six siblings, were with their mother, Ann, to help arrange their father's placement in a care facility for dementia and Alzheimer's patients.

The family's decision arose from the increasing difficulties Ann Nolan encountered in trying to take care of her 75-year-old husband at home.

"One of the things I thought was sad that happened was he didn't recognize my mother as his wife," Nolan said. "So when she tried to help him with anything from just showering or using the bathroom — he's a very modest man — he wouldn't let her even be in there, and he really wasn't able to get it done right. It became very difficult for her to help him."

Nolan has largely avoided speaking publicly about his father's illness for the past two years. Even when he was named 49ers coach Jan. 19, 2005, 37 years to the day after his father began coaching the team, Nolan decided against having him at his introductory news conference. The elder Nolan had begun showing signs of Alzheimer's, and his son wanted to spare him from a potentially uncomfortable public moment.

Mike Nolan also knew the elder Nolan often forgot he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. If he saw or heard anything in the paper or on TV linking him to the illness, it would be like finding out for the first time that he had it, and that potentially could happen over and over again. Each time, his father agonized over the ramifications of the illness and the realization, in his flickering awareness, that he could no longer help his son do his job.

Two weeks ago, though, Mike Nolan began speaking out in hopes of raising awareness of Alzheimer's and dementia. He also wanted to help get the word out about the "88 Plan," a joint program by the league and the players union to provide up to $88,000 a year to help pay for the care of former players with dementia or Alzheimer's.

The plan takes its name from the number worn by Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey, who has dementia.

While there is no known definitive link between multiple concussions and the onset of Alzheimer's or other dementia conditions, some studies indicate it could be a factor.

Dick Nolan, an 88 Plan participant, played nine years in the NFL as a defensive back, and Mike Nolan said his dad "had a lot of concussions, as all of them did back then."

"I don't know" whether they were a factor, Nolan said. "I don't pretend to be a doctor or scientist. But I certainly appreciate what they're doing as far as research and as far as the medical plan the NFL is doing for them. And I want them to continue to do it so we can find a cure for this. A lot of people have it."

Through it all, Nolan said, he has come to understand what people mean when they say someone with Alzheimer's disease or dementia "dies twice."

"When they don't know who you are any longer, that's tough to deal with," he said.

With his father, it's not a total blackout — yet. Nolan said when he arrived in Dallas for his visit in late March, his father initially recognized him. But soon after, his father — the rough-and-tumble cornerback, the co-inventor with Tom Landry of the "flex defense" — seemed to be in a daze.

"Those momentary recognitions, when he'll reach out, when he'll say something, those are the hardest," Nolan said, his voice quieting to a whisper. "I mean, there's that ray of light, and then it's gone."