In April, we told you the story about a man living with early onset Alzheimer’s. At the time, he was waiting for the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi to be approved by the FDA. It finally was in July. KJZZs Kathy Ritchie caught up with him to discuss the treatment.
Leonard Chayrez and partner Mark Garrity are in a bit of a hurry.
"I am heading out to the infusion center," Chayrez said. "And I'll be getting my second round of Leqembi."
Chayrez is 57 years old and was one of the first people in Arizona to be prescribed Leqembi. For him, it was everything.
"How would you describe it?" he asks his partner of more than 20 years, Garrity.
"Emotionally raw," Garrity said. "Emotionally raw. I mean, it was like, I was crying at the weather. I was crying at every little thing because it was like all the work and everything that has gone into the effort of trying to get it going."
Chayrez knows Leqembi won’t cure him, but he does hope it will slow the progression enough so he can wait until the next Alzheimer’s breakthrough.
