Hit and Run

Recently, the New York Times ran another in their series of articles about concussions and football players. Written by George Vecsey, this piece focused on a college football player, Derek Owens, who has joined with other varsity players – three football players and one soccer goalie – in a class action suit that claims the NCAA has been negligent regarding awareness and treatment of brain injuries to athletes. The article begins with Derek’s mom, Teresa, reacting with a mother’s horror at watching her son being ferociously tackled, inadvertently yelling, "They’ve killed him." I know her pain. My son, Tyler, was

AIDS and Alzheimer’s: Two Deadly Diseases, Two Different Stories

In 1986, when I was writing on the sitcom “Designing Women,” the brilliant creator of the show, Linda Bloodworth Thomason, and I found out on the same week that both of our mothers had a fatal disease. Linda’s mother had acquired AIDS from a transfusion; my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Within six months Linda’s mother had passed; my mom died five years later. Years later, in 2002, I had a meeting with then Senator Hillary Clinton. Hillary and Linda were very close friends so I shared that coincidence. I also opined that had that incident occurred then – in

Tackling Concussions

Good news for football moms…and football dads…and football grandparents…and anyone who watches football…and, well, anyone who cares about human life and scientific research. (There must be a category you fit into.) NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, at first in denial about the link between player’s repeated concussions and degenerative cognitive function or Alzheimer’s later in life, has made a laudable 180-degree turnaround. He is now a vocal champion for the safety of his players: “There is no issue of greater importance when it comes to player safety than the effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment of concussions,” Goodell told the 2011 Congress

Why is fighting Alzheimer’s important? Exclusive Q&A with George Vradenburg

Earlier this month, George Vradenburg participated in his first meeting of the national Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services, which is charged with developing the first-ever national plan to combat Alzheimer’s. Using some connections (namely, that he’s my husband), I was able to secure an exclusive interview with Mr. Vradenburg, and we discussed how Alzheimer’s has affected him personally and the work he’s done to stop the disease. TV: Thank you for meeting with me to discuss your work to end Alzheimer’s by 2020, Mr. Vradenburg. GV: Always a pleasure, Mrs. Vradenburg. TV: What were your thoughts about

In Sickness and in Health: A Response to Pat Robertson

When Pat Robertson answered a caller's question on his radio show stating that divorce is a reasonable option for Alzheimer's patients' spouses if they're going to do something in a new relationship, he opened up a hornets' nest of reactions. And many of those hornets had their proverbial stingers out. Is it okay to check your vows at the door if your marriage partner is slipping into the unforgiving vortex of Alzheimer's? If so, what stage - onset, failing memory, paranoid rants, cognitive disassociation, comatose? Mr. Robertson wasn't that specific. Yet he was clearly wrestling with the reality of that