The faces of Alzheimer's

Afternoon sunlight trickled into the dimly lit room, silhouetting Harry Brandt as he reached out to gently embrace Leona "Tudie" Brandt.

The two began to slowly dance about the room.

"It had to be you, wonderful you, it had to be you," he softly crooned to her.

Tears flooded Tudie's eyes at her husband's rendition of the song made popular by Frank Sinatra.

A look of confusion and frustration painted her face. There are many things Alzheimer's disease has caused Tudie to forget. But the sound of her husband's voice is not one of them.

Or the feel of Harry Brandt's touch as he placed an arm around her shoulder to reassure her and brush away tears when she began to tremble and sob.

Tudie may be the one diagnosed with the disease, but she is not its only victim.

Harry's eyes glistened with tears as he saw his wife of 56 years slipping away into a state of confusion.

It's an understatement to say Alzheimer's disease is destructive to a marriage. But it can also strengthen the ties, putting vows to love one another in sickness and in health to the ultimate test.

Harry is Tudie's past, present and future.

The country was enamored by the love story of former President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy.

America may never know Harry and Tudie Brandt, or the millions of other husbands and wives who are fighting the disease hand in hand.

But that does not make their love story any less extraordinary.

You Can't Win this Battle'

Every day, Harry Brandt leaves the Valencia Lea Park mobile home in Highland to visit his wife.

Memories of their life together surround the lay pastor from the Lutheran Church of Our Savior. He vividly remembers their journey. Tudie was diagnosed with the disease four years ago.

"But I knew that she had it before that," said Harry, recalling that it became increasingly difficult for the former accountant to balance her checkbook, taking her up to three hours to complete it.

It is a slow, progressing disease.

Harry had to select his wife's clothes and help her dress.

"It was 24 hours of catnapping and knowing I was not going to get more than 30 minutes of uninterrupted sleep at night," he said.

Tudie would wake up a dozen times each night with terrible leg cramps or need to have her clothes changed because she would forget to go to the restroom.

"It was like someone going back and being a baby just backing up," he said. "It's not easy to see someone you love deteriorate in this way. There is no control or a way of stopping it."