Shriver Advocacy
Funding for Alzheimer's disease research is desperately needed, and Maria Shriver is a wonderful advocate ("Conversation Starter," June/July 2016). She is also spot on about the effects the disease has on caregivers and families. My husband, Ron, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2003 at age 64. Since his diagnosis, he has had a traumatic brain injury, eight head-injury falls, and 20 ambulance runs. I cared for him for 10-and-a-half years before putting him in an Alzheimer's disease unit in a nursing home. He uses a walker, but he still knows me and his children (mostly). I visit four to five days a week and have seen many patients pass on. We are blessed to still have him. - Joan Clarke, Pawtucket, RI
What a service Maria Shriver has provided not only to families of Alzheimer's patients, but also to those with any neurologic disorder. I have Parkinson's disease and do advocacy in that area. Among advocates there is a strong belief that a breakthrough in any of these brain diseases will help all of us. A high-profile person such as Shriver educating the public and politicians and raising funds gives us hope that these diseases will become more treatable and eventually cured. - Mary Shea, Pasadena, CA
Keep Your Cool
I have multiple sclerosis (MS) and am extremely sensitive to heat ("Beat the Heat," June/July 2016). Like Gil Greenman, I can also tell you when the temperature changes from 69 to 70 degrees (perhaps something for MS researchers to study). I have an additional tip for staying cool: Run cold water over your wrists or use another method to cool them. The nurse who shared this tip says there is some sort of temperature thermostat in the wrist, which helps the rest of the body cool off. Try it the next time the heat starts getting to you. - Kim Reimer, Los Angeles, CA
Tongue Tied
In your article about children with adult diseases ("Sick Before Their Time," June/July 2016), specifically the section on sleep apnea, I noticed that the doctors recommended palate expanders without explaining why a child would have a high palate and need such a therapy. As a lactation consultant/RN, I see many babies with severely restricted tongues [also known as tongue tie or ankyloglossia] who have high palates because their tongues were unable to reach the palate to expand it in utero. As someone who has experienced the negative effects of a tongue tie, including sleep apnea, I want to say that anyone being evaluated for sleep apnea should also be evaluated for a tongue tie. Although I was always a mouth breather and snored, I wasn't diagnosed with sleep apnea until my forties. The years of poor concentration, poor sleep, and headaches have taken their toll. Fortunately, some doctors are putting the puzzle pieces together. - Sherry Weersing, Thornton, PA
On Balance
I was surprised the article on balance ("Balancing Act," June/July 2016) never mentioned using a cane. I am 85 and have had idiopathic sensorimotor polyneuropathy for more than 30 years. In January, I suffered my fourth fall in two-and-a-half years. While going to physical therapy after the last one, the therapist gave me several daily balancing exercises and suggested using a cane. As he put it, "You don't need it for support; you need it for balance." Both have improved my confidence and gait. - Walter Nohstadt, Jr., Columbus, NJ
Your article on balance was well explained and illustrated. I don't have any of these symptoms at this time, but being only a couple months away from 80, I will keep these strategies and exercises in mind. - Donald J. Sheldon, Glenmont, NY
Thank you for shining a light on vestibular disorders in your article about balance. People don't really understand them until they experience them. - Isabel Reyes, Brooklyn, NY
Best Issue Yet
The June/July 2016 issue is the best ever for its many useful tips for all ages. Also, as a widowed husband of someone who had Parkinson's disease, I have many reasons to value this edition-and it is all free! - Joseph A. Rock, Silver Spring, MD
