Brian Van Buren’s life has been filled with thrilling adventures. In the late 1980s, he met Princess Diana at one of her pet projects, the London Lighthouse AIDS Clinic, while caring for his late husband (who died before Van Buren’s diagnosis); during his 22-year tenure as a flight attendant for United Airlines, he visited 57 countries; he twice appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, as a survivor of childhood sexual assault by a priest; he raised his voice and marched for equal rights, gay rights and AIDS awareness.
But, at the age of 64, an MRI and subsequent PET scan confirmed early-onset Alzheimer’s, an uncommon form of dementia that affects people younger than 65.
Read this story of resilience (with some high-tech help) on nextavenue.com.