The Wall Street Journal had a story about Alzheimer’s Disease earlier this week. Here’s my account of the situation.
I've been living with Alzheimer's for nearly eight years, when my mother, at 60, was diagnosed with this God-awful disease. I've never experienced anything more emotionally extracting than watching my mother suffer from this terrible condition.
The best reason the doctors could give for her dementia was that she suffered from depression. And while 60 is an early age to be hobbled with Alzheimer's, there are plenty of younger people who are diagnosed.
I met a 43-year-old man with it while touring assisted living facilities. A lawyer told me about a 42-year-old woman who was stricken.
Sure, they're the rarity.
Stimulating your mind with a book or a game is a fine idea. But if you really want to prevent this, go for a run at least three times a week. Moving the blood around your heart and your head will do more to keep your brain in shape than anything else.
Not that reading is bad. But there's no getting around cardiovascular exercise. Your heart requires it and so does your brain.
Today, at 67, my mother lives in the Alzheimer's unit at an assisted living facility. The attendants bathe and dress her and make sure she eats. The annual cost? About $80,000.00. And it’s all private pay.
The annual tab is paid through her IRA and the money made when we sold her house.
If you want to know stress, check out what it’s like to watch the stock market take a nosedive, as it did in the final months of 2008, and then wonder how your mother will pay her bills.
It’s not like she’s employable.
Add to that the time I agreed to put her on an anti-psychotic drug, Zyprexa. In dementia patients, it’s considered an “FDA-approved black label drug,” meaning death is a possible side effect.
Every morning, my first thought is, “I killed my mother.”
Alzheimer's is described as the "long, slow, goodbye."
I wish it were faster. My mother's a shell of the lady she was. In her youth, she was vibrant, beautiful, and full of life. Now she's worn down, haggard-looking, 30 pounds overweight, and can't remember my name or anyone else’s.
The tragedy is that physically she's in pretty good shape. Mentally, she's a vacuum, not remembering words said to her seconds ago.
I pray she dies soon. That’s when her dignity will be restored.
Don't let this disease happen to you. Go for a run three times a week and change your diet. And while you're at it, find a good book to read.
Do something, goddammit!
Showing posts with label The Wall Street Journal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Wall Street Journal. Show all posts
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Monday, December 08, 2008
Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Tribune?
The Wall Street Journal reports today that Chicago-based Tribune Company, owner of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, six other daily newspapers, a number of television stations, plus the Chicago Cubs baseball team, may seek Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.
What’s surprising is the Lazard, which is also handling the sale of the Chicago Sun-Times and Sun-Times Holdings, has apparently, according to the Journal, been retained to find a buyer for the assets of the Tribune Company, if not the entire company itself.
It begs the question whether Lazard has a conflict of interest because they’re working for two companies that compete with one another in Chicago.
Tribune Company went private about a year ago when real estate mogul Sam Zell purchased the company. The tragedy, however, is that instead of having the money to outright buy the company, he put it into debt, to about the tune of $13 billion.
Given the size of the company, most days a debt of that size might have been easy to handle. But before the deal was even closed, Zell’s bankers were concerned about the deal because Tribune’s revenue stream was declining.
There are no asset sales on the horizon for Tribune Company – which kept the bankers at bay – so, as the Journal reports:
“The company's cash flow may not be enough to cover nearly $1 billion in interest payments due this year, and Tribune owes a $512 million debt payment in June.
”One of Tribune's most pressing concerns: The company is likely to be in violation of debt terms that limit borrowings at the end of the year to nine times its adjusted profits. The ratio stood at 8.3 at the end of the second quarter, before Tribune reported an 83% decline in operating profit for the three months ended Sept 28.”
It was reported about two months ago that the Cubs, coming off of a good season, plus an appearance (albeit brief) in the playoffs, could command a price in the $800 million range. If Tribune Company goes Chapter 11, it’s difficult to say if such a reported price would hold up.
In addition, two years ago, David Geffen, significant player in Hollywood, was offering $2 billion for the Los Angeles Times. Here, again, if Tribune goes Chapter 11, it’s questionable if that price will hold. (Even if Tribune wasn’t seeking Chapter 11 protection, it’s hard to say if, given the state of the U.S. newspaper industry, that price would hold up today.)
McClatchy, based in Sacramento, owner of a number of daily newspapers, recently restructured its debt terms. Tribune may be able to do the same and avoid Chapter 11.
What’s surprising is the Lazard, which is also handling the sale of the Chicago Sun-Times and Sun-Times Holdings, has apparently, according to the Journal, been retained to find a buyer for the assets of the Tribune Company, if not the entire company itself.
It begs the question whether Lazard has a conflict of interest because they’re working for two companies that compete with one another in Chicago.
Tribune Company went private about a year ago when real estate mogul Sam Zell purchased the company. The tragedy, however, is that instead of having the money to outright buy the company, he put it into debt, to about the tune of $13 billion.
Given the size of the company, most days a debt of that size might have been easy to handle. But before the deal was even closed, Zell’s bankers were concerned about the deal because Tribune’s revenue stream was declining.
There are no asset sales on the horizon for Tribune Company – which kept the bankers at bay – so, as the Journal reports:
“The company's cash flow may not be enough to cover nearly $1 billion in interest payments due this year, and Tribune owes a $512 million debt payment in June.
”One of Tribune's most pressing concerns: The company is likely to be in violation of debt terms that limit borrowings at the end of the year to nine times its adjusted profits. The ratio stood at 8.3 at the end of the second quarter, before Tribune reported an 83% decline in operating profit for the three months ended Sept 28.”
It was reported about two months ago that the Cubs, coming off of a good season, plus an appearance (albeit brief) in the playoffs, could command a price in the $800 million range. If Tribune Company goes Chapter 11, it’s difficult to say if such a reported price would hold up.
In addition, two years ago, David Geffen, significant player in Hollywood, was offering $2 billion for the Los Angeles Times. Here, again, if Tribune goes Chapter 11, it’s questionable if that price will hold. (Even if Tribune wasn’t seeking Chapter 11 protection, it’s hard to say if, given the state of the U.S. newspaper industry, that price would hold up today.)
McClatchy, based in Sacramento, owner of a number of daily newspapers, recently restructured its debt terms. Tribune may be able to do the same and avoid Chapter 11.
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