After Oscar Win, Julianne Moore Texts Minn. Woman With Alzheimer's

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - When the Oscar for Best Actress was presented Sunday night, Alzheimer's Disease was also cast into the spotlight.

Actress Julianne Moore won the award for her role in the movie "Still Alice."

Here's what she said during her acceptance speech: "I'm thrilled actually we were able to shine a light on Alzheimer's Disease. So many people with this disease feel isolated and marginalized."

In the movie, Moore portrays a woman diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.

A woman from Sartell, Minnesota, was Moore's adviser.

Sandy Oltz was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's four years ago, when she was just 46.

Moore relied on Oltz to help her to play her role convincingly.

When WCCO-TV interviewed Oltz last month, she said how they would Skype and exchange text messages several times a week.

Producers even flew her out twice to be on the set

She said on the phone Monday that the two of them were texting Sunday night as she watched from home in her pajamas.

"I am standing two inches from the TV, and then they announce her name, and I am yelling and jumping up and down," Oltz said. "While I watched the movie, there were so many parts where I sat back and said, 'That's what I said, that's what I told her to do,' and she truly listened. There are so many parts of the movie that are really me."

Oltz said she shares in the victory and believes the movie will do much to educate people about Alzheimer's, its impact on family members and how it can be diagnosed in people in their 40s and 50s -- not just the elderly.

She said one of the hardest things she deals with is people downplaying her diagnosis and comparing it to their difficulty in remembering things or finding lost items in their home, like their keys.

Her symptoms are much more serious and challenging and affect her quality of life.

"It's great that something like this is out there for people to see and get a feel for Alzheimer's," Oltz said. "It's not just the old grandma in nursing homes -- it is something that can happen to anyone,  middle-aged too."

Oltz saif Moore invited her to join her at the awards ceremony last night, but she chose to stay home because travelling is difficult for her.

For more on Alzheimer's, visit the website of the Alzheimer's Association's Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter.