Former Gov. Carroll Campbell, who has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for nearly six years, has been admitted to a residential treatment facility for full-time care.

“Sadly, it became apparent that, despite the family’s best efforts, Governor Campbell must have around-the-clock professional care at a facility dedicated to that purpose,” family friend Bob McAlister said.

“The family made that decision after many tears and much prayer. It was the most difficult decision imaginable. I do not have the words to convey their pain and anguish in reaching this decision.”

Campbell’s family declined comment. McAlister declined to name the facility out of concern for Campbell’s privacy.

In the fall of 2001 — six years after leaving office — Campbell, now 65, revealed to South Carolinians in a letter that he had been diagnosed with the early stages of the disease and that he intended to fight it.

“I will not yield,” Campbell wrote. “This is my nature and my plan.”

Ever since, Campbell and his family have been fighting the disease, for which there is no cure.

Campbell has participated in experimental drug trials. His family has worked to raise awareness about the disease. A number of events have been held across the state in his honor and to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.

Campbell and his wife, Iris, have been living at Debordieu, an oceanfront community in Georgetown County near Pawleys Island.

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Common symptoms are disturbances in memory, attention and orientation; changes in personality and language difficulties.

Early-onset Alzheimer’s, which normally affects people between 30 and 64, strikes sooner and progresses faster than late-onset Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s can last from two to 20 years — seven years being the average — and always ends in death.

Campbell served two terms as governor from 1987 to 1995 — only the second Republican elected governor since Reconstruction. He is credited with rebuilding the S.C. Republican Party into the dominant political force it is today. He led the effort to restructure state government during his tenure.

Campbell also played leading roles in the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and served as chairman of the National Governors Association.

Iris Campbell and her two sons, Carroll III and Mike, agreed that the move to a care facility was in Campbell’s best interest, McAlister said.

In the meantime, McAlister said, they asked him to thank the people of South Carolina for their love, support and prayers, and, “They ask that they continue.”

Reach Bandy at (803) 771-8648 or lbandy@thestate.com.