According to the National Institute on Aging, more than 6 million Americans are struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.

The disease is insidious. It slowly destroys a person’s memory and thinking skills, leaving someone unable to do even simple tasks. According to the NIA, the symptoms begin to appear when someone is in their mid-60s.

While there is no cure yet for Alzheimer’s, one man was determined to fight as hard as he could to stop it from advancing.

So when Ron Robert, 85, was diagnosed, he decided there was only one thing he could do: go back to school.

 His diagnosis was somewhat expected, he said. He has two siblings who also suffered from the disease.

What hurt the most, Robert said, was losing his driver’s license. But he decided that would be the end of the road for him.

He realized he could either push back against the disease or let it consume him. So he began changing his life. The first item on his bucket list was a college degree.

I’m not going to just sit on my butt and let it take over my life,” Robert said.

Without a driver’s license, he would have to walk to his school. So he began practicing each day, walking more than 3 miles in preparation.

He said he wanted to be in good enough shape to fulfill what he’d need to do in school.

Ron Robert speaks to a class at his college.

“I wanted to get a university education,” Robert said. “I knew I was going to be tested and I knew it was long-term. Those two things made me decide university was the way to go.”

Even though he’d never graduated from college, he had worked as a journalist and radio broadcaster in Canada. Eventually, he went on to work as a political advisor for the previous Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Robert said at first, school was hard to get back into. The first few years, he said, was a challenge. He said it was ‘learning to learn again’, with him struggling to memorize names, places and dates.

“In my first year at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, I went from a D in my first exam to an A in my final exam in Political Science,” Robert said. “It was a real surprise and satisfying, mainly because of the progress it showed.”

Robert’s wife, Catherine Cornelius said that all of the hard work her husband did helped his Alzheimer’s from progressing.

One of his professors, Jeff Preston, agreed.

“We have this perception that people with disabilities like Alzheimer’s are wholly incapable. I think what Ron has shown is that all sorts of people can succeed in a university classroom when provided with the right environment and supports to nurture success,” Preston said.

It took Robert three years, but he received his bachelor’s degree at King’s University College in Ontario.

Ron Robert recieves his diploma. Photo by the Robert family

“When I went across the stage, and as I’m getting my diploma, the kids all stood up and yelled and clapped,” Robert said. “I had to hold back the tears. It was something else, just wonderful.”

Robert said he is going to continue his education and his goal is to earn a Master’s degree. 

Despite the knowledge his disease will get worse as time goes on, Robert has taken a more positive approach to it.

“There’s nothing I can do about it. You only worry about things you can’t change. So I don’t worry about that,” he said.

“We’re all going to get bumps in the road as we get old. It’s inevitable. We’re all going to die, so accept that and start living. And until you do accept that, you can’t live.”

Watch Robert’s inspiring story below.

Sources: My Positive Outlooks | CBC