Former President Reagan Turns 90

Feb. 6, 2001 -- Former President Ronald Reagan turned 90 years old today with his wife Nancy vowing never to let him be cared for in a home that treats patients with Alzheimer's disease.

A Reagan Retrospective

In an interview with CNN's Larry King aired tonight (9 p.m. ET), former first lady Nancy Reagan told of the restrictive life she and the ex-president now lead because of his illness, including severely limiting the number of visitors.

"I think Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was," Mrs. Reagan said.

But she added that he is recovering well from the broken hip he suffered two weeks ago and says that despite his Alzheimer's, his general health is that of a much younger man and he even has a full head of hair, with only a few gray strands, that requires regular visits from a barber to "thin it out."

In the interview, King asked Mrs. Reagan, "What do you do with frustration? Because you must have that. It must be frustrating when you're with someone who's not cognitive."

Mrs. Reagan answers, "Well, you just learn to live with it. I mean, what is there to do?"

When King suggested, "There are hospitals that specialize in just treating Alzheimer patients," she responded by saying: "Oh, no. Oh, no. Never. Never. No, no. He's going to stay at home."

Total Caregiver

Mrs. Reagan described herself as a total caregiver to her husband, saying that because of his disease, she cannot have conversations with him or share their past.

"It's sad to see somebody you love and have been married for so long [with Alzheimer's] and you can't share memories. That's the sad part." she said.

But she also said that her whole life revolves around him and their love. "Life began with Ronnie," she said, adding that she has saved everything he ever wrote her, including the notes attached to Christmas presents.

"I saved Christmas tie-on things, because he'd always write something very sweet. But I came to realize that I had to make some decision about these letters, and I could destroy them, which I couldn't possibly do, or I could leave them where they were, but then you run the risk of somebody finding them andselling them." They are to be donated to his presidential library.

Headed for 100

Mrs. Reagan said that her husband could live to be 100 years old because "Everything else" is fine, except for the Alzheimer's.

She added that despite breaking his hip two weeks ago, he never once howled or grimaced in pain. "He was frowning, and he was rubbing his right thigh, you knew he had to be in pain, because he never [said anything]," she said.

Adding to the debate that erupted over the Clintons taking gifts they received from the White House, Mrs. Reagan said that although she and her husband did receive a $2.5 million Bel Air home from supporters — they paid back the amount with interest.

She said the only reason they accepted the gift was that their money was tied up in a blind trust and they could not get a home — but they accepted the gift with every intention of payingit back and they did.

Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1994, five years after he left the White House. People who have seen Reagan say the disease has taken a heavy toll and he could not remember them or his presidency.

Reagan left office in 1989 after two terms of a presidency that revitalized the fortunes of the Republican Party in U.S. politics.

The former Hollywood actor and California governor was elected in 1980. He led a conservative revolution that transformed the face of American politics and became the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to serve two terms.

Reagan survived a 1981 assassination attempt that put a bullet near his heart, a 1985 colon cancer operation and a 1987 prostate and skin-cancer surgery.