Woman Puts ‘Dream’ Home on Market After Husband’s Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Diagnosis at 55: ‘I’m Not Superwoman’ (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Anthony Sandone was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at just 55 years old

• He and his wife, Karen, have been married for 17 years and spent the past five building a life together in their beloved Pennsylvania home

• In January 2026, after realizing her husband’s condition had severely progressed, Karen made the “tough decision” to put their house on the market to help reduce financial strain and minimize upkeep

Anthony and Karen Sandone used to spend their days traveling, discovering new places and making memories together. But in 2023, everything changed when Anthony, only 55, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s after struggling with memory loss and language difficulties.

By August 2025, after a series of seizures, Anthony could no longer be left alone, and the life they once knew disappeared “almost overnight,” Karen tells PEOPLE. The trips they loved were no longer possible, and the house they had made a home for five years suddenly felt too big and too difficult to manage.

In January 2026, with a heavy heart, Karen decided it was time to sell. “I love my house, but I love my husband more,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Anthony and Karen’s home in Bucks County was their “dream house,” carefully customized and lovingly shaped into the perfect place for their retirement.

“[We] always wanted to live in a quaint, walkable town and this home gave us exactly that,” Karen explains. “It represented the future we believed in and a place where we spent holidays with family, made memories and imagined growing old together. It was where we planned to host loved ones and enjoy the life we worked so hard to build.”

Unfortunately, the size of the house gradually became a financial and physical burden for Karen. Letting it go means saying goodbye to a long-held dream.

“Caregivers are often forced to make life-altering decisions far sooner than expected when facing a progressive disease like Alzheimer’s,” Karen says. “Everyone tells me it is just a house. I got it. But this was our house and our beautiful life together. Now my focus has shifted to giving Anthony what he needs most.”

Karen says that the most difficult part of this season in her life is the constant state of alertness – knowing Anthony cannot be left alone and that every decision rests with her. Even while managing a full-time career, her concern for him never fades. Caregiving, she explains, has no “off switch.”

“What has surprised me most is my own endurance. I did not know I could live in a near-constant state of alertness and still lead with love,” she says.

“Some mornings, I want to sit quietly and take everything in, but those moments do not last long,” Karen adds. “Instead, I am grateful for the time we have together in the mornings, knowing that this time together, too, may change. I have found a strength I never asked for, but one I now rely on every single day.”

As Karen prepares for the September 2026 move, she knows it is the right choice for their finances, Anthony’s future care and her own sustainability. The new home will be easier to manage, but the responsibility of finding it and furnishing it while also preparing to list their current house in April 2026 rests entirely on her.

Anthony can no longer manage daily tasks or home upkeep, Karen says, and while she tries to include him in small ways, giving him too many projects can heighten his confusion. Easing that pressure helps him, even as it adds to her own exhaustion. Still, she is learning to ask for help and is intentionally building a stronger circle of support around them.

“I am not Superwoman – although some days it feels like that is the role I am expected to play. I know I cannot do this alone, and I no longer pretend that I can,” Karen admits. “To prepare, I am focusing on what will ground him most: familiarity, routine and consistency of care.”

As a result, Karen has chosen to move to a 55-plus community, where outside maintenance is handled, and daily upkeep is far lighter, offering a setting better suited to this next chapter. “The change will be sad, but as long as he is with me, my home is my husband,” she says.

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When asked what gives her the strength to keep showing up each day, Karen does not hesitate. Her answer is unconditional love.

“Anthony and I have had an incredible life and marriage. He is my person, and I am his,” she tells PEOPLE. “I live with a broken heart every day, watching this disease slowly take him farther and farther away from me – but I still show up, even when it hurts. Anthony did not choose this disease, and neither did I – but I choose how I respond to it.”

Read the original article on People