First person: Longtime journalist documents his struggles with Alzheimer’s

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 02: Social worker Nuria Casulleres shows a portrait of Audrey Hepburn to elderly men during a memory activity at the Cuidem La Memoria elderly home, which specializes in Alzheimer patients on August 2, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. Nuria Casulleres, whose only daughter lives at home while attending University, is accustomed to 900 euros monthly for income. With The Catalan Government government cutbacks she is now only receiving 800 euro with rent taking 650 of that income. The Government currently cannot pay the July allocations to old age homes and others social services as a result of liquidity issues. According to reports, Spain's most indebted region, Catalonia, is not be able to pay 400 millions euros in grants. Approximately one hundred thousand social workers will see their salary cut by 40% to 50% while relatives of elderly home residents have had to help pay the salaries and expenses. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Greg O’Brien spent 35 years working in the news industry, as a writer, editor, investigative reporter and publisher.

In 2009, at the age of 59, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. And since, he has been tirelessly documenting the toll the unforgiving disease has taken on him. Those endless pages of notes and reflections culminated in the book, “On Pluto,” which came out in 2014.

Now two years later, O’Brien has published an article in the Washington Post that continues his dialogue with public.

O’Brien speaks with Patt Morrison about this difficult journey, and how he’s managed to remain hopeful in the face of the illness.

Guests:

Greg O'Brien, the author of "On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's" (Codfish Press, 2014) and a patient-advocate for the Alzheimer's Association. His recent piece in the Washington Post is titled “I’m documenting my own Alzheimer’s disease while I still can”

Zaldy S. Tan, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Program, and Associate Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA