EASTERN IOWA -- Ten million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer's disease within the next few years.

The Alzheimer's Association reports 65,000 Iowans currently have the disease.

Alzheimer's is now the fifth leading cause of death for people over 65.

The disease also affects the victim's entire family and changes their lives forever.

Dave Good was moving his way up through the legal system as a
judge in Cedar Rapids. Then, doctors diagnosed him with Alzheimer's and everything changed.

"I said, well, I'm just going to do the best I can and anytime I can't, I ask for help," Dave Good said.

His wife, Kathy Good said, "The total responsibility for our lives shifted. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I am totally responsible now.’ Of course, that was an overreaction."

Now, the husband and wife team are trying to stay active and fight the disease.

"She's been great. Just great. She's knows and she's smart," Dave Good said.

The Alzheimer's Association report found that an American develops Alzheimer's every seventy-one seconds.

"These numbers are alarming. We have a situation on our hands and we have to do something about it," National Alzheimer’s Board member Debbie Jones said.

Alzheimer's groups all over the country are using the report to encourage people to support the cause.

"We have to wake the public up that this is a public health epidemic. This is the time to talk," Jones said.

The Goods are doing their best to push through this difficult time.

"What we've tried to do is not focus on what doesn't work, but try to focus on what does work and then try to maximize that," Kathy Good said.

Focusing on the positive may seem difficult in a situation like this, but the husband and wife team have found a way to still share smiles in the wake of the disease.

Dave Good has a rare form of Alzheimer's that caused him to go blind, which makes life even more challenging.

Doctors diagnosed him with the disease when he was only 56-years-old.