I Am the Alzheimer’s Party

The Alzheimer’s Party. Haven’t heard of it? Well, you ought to familiarize yourself with it; there is an election in less than three months and our existence may well depend on it. Is Alzheimer’s an atom bomb that will destroy us? Well, in a way, yes. And this is our chance to disarm it. Together, those with Alzheimer’s and those who care for them are a party of 20 million strong. As the Alzheimer’s Party, we cannot be ignored. Are you older than 66? Are you a boomer? Are you younger than that? If you answered “yes” to any of

Two Good men

It’s easy to pick Sargent Shriver out of a picture. The rule of thumb is this: if ninety-nine people look solemn and there is only one person smiling, that person is inevitably Sargent Shriver. And if those people in the picture could come alive for, say, ten minutes, you could come back and find ninety-nine more people smiling. So what does he know that the others don’t? He knew how to embrace the joy of life. In short, he was contagious. What a gift. Mark Shriver’s moving book, A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver, is a deeply personal

African Americans are 2 to 3 Times More Likely to Develop Alzheimer’s

Editor's note: This guest post is by J. Patrick Berry, a former partner of the law firm Baker Botts LLP where he currently serves as Senior Counsel. The views expressed below are those of Mr. Berry and do not reflect the views of Baker Botts LLP. Mr. Berry is a founding board member of USAgainstAlzheimer's and is also the author of Escape from Enchantment, a novella based on his own family's experience with Alzheimer's. African Americans are 2 to 3 Times More Likely to Develop Alzheimer's. When I first heard this statistic, it literally blew me away. Not that there

The Case for Choice

Originally posted at www.healthcentral.com The other day my husband and I were making out our Last Will and Testament. Not a fun chore, to be sure, but ultimately necessary (though, of course, we're never going to die). The one thing we don't agree on is our living will. My husband wants to have a DNR (do not resuscitate) clause to be used if he is simply prolonging his life -- with no hope for recovery. He used to joke that if he were asleep and sneezed, I would tell a doctor it was time to pull the plug. He stopped

Going It Alone

Originally posted at blog.aarp.com. Married people live longer and healthier lives. Consider this: nine out of ten married men who are alive at 48 will make it to 65-years-old (no, it will not just seem like it) as compared with six out of 10 of men who are not married. Women on the other hand are in better shape statistically. So be aware men; Marriage can save your life. Be grateful. I will be forwarding this to my husband. But not everyone agrees with this hypothesis. One of my associates, Guy, insists that his wife will be the death of