For years, Woody Durham and his family feared the unknown while the retired UNC radio announcer gradually lost his ability to speak. At first the diagnosis of Primary Progressive Aphasia, a neurocognitive disorder that robs its victims of their vocabulary, brought relief.
At last, there was an answer. When Dr. Daniel Kaufer made the diagnosis, he said, Woody provided a “perfect reaction,” referencing his on-air problems late in his career: “Oh … so that’s why it was so hard.”
Ten years ago, Woody would not have been diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia. He would have been misdiagnosed, Kaufer said, likely with Alzheimer’s or “mild dementia.