prime of life

Full-grown and then some, in the prime of life.

Alzheimer's disease has plagued one large Colombian family for generations, striking down half of its members in the prime of life.

The disease, which causes paralysis, strikes many patients in the prime of life and often leads to death within two to five years.

A.L.S., or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — also called Lou Gehrig’s disease — often strikes patients in the prime of life and frequently causes death within two to five years.

Rather than being in the prime of life, they think they'd soon be decrepit and dead.