Capt. Sully Sullenberger speaks out about Alzheimer’s diagnosis: ‘I’ve done harder things than this before’

For the first time since announcing his Alzheimer’s diagnosis over the summer, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger has discussed his experience with the disease and what lies ahead.

“I’ve done harder things than this before,” Sullenberger, who successfully landed a commercial airliner filled with passengers on the Hudson River in 2009, told “Good Morning America” on Wednesday.

Sullenberger, 75, and his wife, Lorrie Sullenberger, spoke with host Robin Roberts about the diagnosis, which he revealed in a post on his website in July.

“I recently found out I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. It is early stage,” the retired pilot wrote in the July 14 post. “For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey.”

Sullenberger became a household name when he successfully landed a commercial airplane in the Hudson River, saving everyone on board, after a bird strike caused both engines to fail shortly after takeoff. The act has since been known as “The Miracle on the Hudson.”

Clint Eastwood dramatized Sullenberger’s heroic exploits in the 2016 film “Sully,” starring Tom Hanks…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health