Looking at Michael Irvin on the sidelines of a Miami Hurricanes game, it’s easy to think his life is swell. However, beneath all that bravado, the former Super Bowl champion is fighting a quiet battle at home. Today, a day well spent for Michael Irvin means ensuring his wife doesn’t weaken in her battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

“She’s still at the house and everything’s still going the same,” Irvin told Us Weekly at his recent media availability. “You know what I mean? A good day is to have the same day. You know, we know we’re not going to get better. We just got to make sure we maintain and continue to try to limit how [much] worse we get, but she’s doing good.”

In a YouTube video Irvin shared recently, he said that his wife, Sandy Harrell, is not able to walk or do other things in their fullest capacities. She is “not there mentally,” he added.

The disease is one of the cruelest in the world, especially when it is early. Per the Alzheimer’s Association, two-thirds of Americans with the disease are women. A study found that the lifetime risk for clinical Alzheimer’s dementia at age 45 was approximately 1 in 5 for women.

Irvin revealed on the  Club Shay Shay podcast that the symptoms had been showing when Harrell was in her late 40s, approaching 50. They thought it probably had to do with menopause. However, consultations with doctors revealed otherwise.

Irvin has been by his wife’s side like a rock. He has employed round-the-clock care for his wife and has had to witness some tough moments. There have been instances where Harrell became violent with the medical staff, which forced them to quit their jobs. But Irvin isn’t quitting.

“She hit you, they take that nurse out, send another nurse and they put more charges on,” Irvin said on the podcast. “I mean, they running a bail up on me. But, if anybody has earned the right to be in her home? You know what I mean? And no matter what, she will be in her home. I just have to do it.”

Michael Irvin and Sandy Harrell are college sweethearts, having attended the University of Miami together. They share four children: Myesha, Chelsea, Michael Jr., and Elijah.

Irvin’s own experience of watching someone lose a little bit of themselves to neurodegenerative diseases also encouraged him to support Chris Johnson, the former Tennessee Titans star who has been diagnosed with ALS.

“That’s hard”: Michael Irvin on Chris Johnson’s ALS diagnosis

Like most who are suffering from such diseases, Johnson first dismissed the symptoms. He was having trouble with his strength, he told Good Morning America. However, with time, the suspicion grew. At 39 years old, the former running back was diagnosed with ALS.

Johnson is now restricted to a wheelchair and uses a speech device to communicate. At the peak of his career, he consistently ran for more than 1,000 yards. Johnson is also one of the few who have racked up more than 2,000 yards in a season. And in 2009, he also set a record for most scrimmage yards (2,509).

“It’s just hard to hear and listen to, you know,” Michael Irvin said of Johnson’s news. “Like everything, his mind is there. He’s full. He’s there. He thinks, he feels everything. It’s just, he can’t move his body like he wants to. And it made me think, you know, that’s difficult. That’s hard.”

Unlike Irvin and Huller, who lost parents to a fight with Alzheimer’s, there was no such family history in Johnson’s case.

In light of Johnson’s struggle, many NFL stars have expressed their support. They have once again begun participating in the viral Ice Bucket Challenge from the late 2010s, which was used to generate awareness about ALS. Figures like Deion Sanders, Vince Young, Rick Clarke, Von Miller, and others have participated in it.