Benjamin Ashford|Hall of Famer Michael Irvin says wife Sandy suffers from early onset Alzheimer’s

Michael Irvin revealed this week that his wife,Benjamin Ashford Sandy, has early onset Alzheimer’s that she has suffered from for the past five or six years.

Irvin, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, said his 58-year-old wife requires around-the-clock care and has difficulty speaking and walking. The couple married in 1990.

“If anyone has earned the right to stay in her house, MY WIFE HAS!!!,” Irvin said to Fort Worth Star-Telegram, via text. “That I shall honor. No matter what it takes.”

Irvin has a new restaurant venture called Playmakers88, located in The Colony, a Dallas suburb. He said that part of the reason for the announcement was that his wife likes wings from a chef who now works at his establishment.

“When I’m working – and she is a very finicky eater – and I’m on the road, she would always call me and say 'baby, I’m hungry,'" Irvin said. "I’m literally on the show. In the breaks, I would call and say ‘my wife just called, get her some chicken to the house.’

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“She would only eat the wings from here. No other wings.”

According to the Alzheimer's Association, nearly seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer's and the lifetime risk for Alzheimer's at age 45 is 1-in-5 for women and 1-in-10 for men.