{"id":4528,"date":"2026-07-14T22:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4528"},"modified":"2026-07-14T22:11:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:11:29","slug":"sully-sullenberger-received-alzheimers-diagnosis-after-photographic-memory-began-to-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4528","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sully\u2019 Sullenberger received Alzheimer’s diagnosis after ‘photographic memory’ began to fail"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Capt. Chesley \u201cSully\u201d Sullenberger III, the Bay Area-based pilot who became a national hero in 2009 after he landed his US Airways flight on the Hudson River and saved 155 passengers and crew, disclosed Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

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The 75-year-old retired pilot responsible for the \u2018Miracle on the Hudson\u201d plane landing, revealed his diagnosis in a statement to People magazine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is early stage,\u201d Sullenberger told People. \u201cFor now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don\u2019t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and his wife, Lorrie Sullenberger, explained that this\u201djourney\u201d of living with a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder, began a year ago after he noticed that something was \u201ca bit off\u201d with what he describes as his photographic memory, People reported. Over time, Sullenberger found he would forgot things and couldn\u2019t recall details he could once easily summon.<\/p>\n

So far, the disease has done little to impact Sullenberger\u2019s \u201crenowned powers of unflappability and focus,\u201d Lorrie Sullenberger told People.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as he was the same steady person before and after Flight 1549, he is the same steady person now, before and after this diagnosis,\u201d Lorrie Sullenberger said.<\/p>\n

The couple acknowledge that they don\u2019t know what the future holds, but Lorrie Sullenberger said they are trying to live each day with \u201chope\u201d and \u201cjoy.\u201d The former, longtime Danville residents, who currently live in San Francisco, according to People, share two daughters and a granddaughter.<\/p>\n

Sullenberger is the second major Bay Area celebrity in the past month to reveal he\u2019s been diagnosed with the incurable disorder, which, over time, slows a person\u2019s movements, memory and speech. Danny Glover, the legendary San Francisco film and TV actor and lifelong activist, revealed that he, too, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Glover, 79, said in an interview with the \u201cToday\u201d show that he had been living with the condition for several years.<\/p>\n

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In statements that both Glover and Sullenberger made to the media about their conditions, they\u00a0 pointed out that they are among the more than 7 million Americans, 65 and older, who are living with the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can live with it, in a sense,\u201d Glover, the the four-time Emmy-nominated actor told \u201cNBC Nightly News\u201d anchor Lester Holt. He said, \u201cI\u2019m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Glover and Sullenberger also have shown a desire to use their national profiles to educate the public about Alzheimer\u2019s disease and to let others dealing with it know they are not alone, as People reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spent my life in service, in the U.S. Air Force, as a commercial airline pilot, an accident investigator, and as the U.S. Ambassador to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization),\u201d said Sullenberger, whose heroic act on Jan. 15, 2009 led to him being played by Tom Hanks in Clint Eastwood\u2019s 2016 film, \u201cSully.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have advocated for the safety of the traveling public for decades. And, of course, after the landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, I used the greater voice afforded to me by \u2018The Miracle on the Hudson\u2019 to further aviation safety by speaking out on the many issues facing the industry,\u201d Sullenberger continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service,\u201d Sullenberger also said. \u201cAnd the answer is to speak up. It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than anything, Sullenberger said he wants to be an advocate for hope. \u201cSo many people told us after Flight 1549, that the outcome gave them hope,\u201d he said. \u201cLorrie, my incredible partner of 37 years, says we can all use a little of that hope right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As with legendary actor Danny Glover’s recent disclosure about having Alzheimer’s disease, Chesley Sullenberger wants to use his national profile to advocate for others living with the condition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Sully\u2019 Sullenberger received Alzheimer’s diagnosis after ‘photographic memory’ began to fail - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4528\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Sully\u2019 Sullenberger received Alzheimer’s diagnosis after ‘photographic memory’ began to fail - 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