BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER’S. WE’RE GOING TO SPEAK WITH DR. OZ
ABOUT IT IN A MOMENT.
MARIA
MARIA MARIA SHRIVER SAT DOWN TO TALK
WITH HIM ABOUT WHY HE’S SHARING
THIS PERSONAL STORY WITH THE
WORLD.
WORLD. >> MY MOTHER WAS RECENTLY
DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER’S.
>> AN EMOTIONAL DR. OZ OPENING
UP LIKE NEVER BEFORE.
>> I FEAR I MAY HAVE MISSED SOME
OF THE SIGNS.
I DON’T FEAR IT, I KNOW IT.
>> THE LONG TIME TV HOST
REVEALING HIS 81-YEAR-OLD
MOTHER’S DIAGNOSIS COMING MONTHS
AFTER LOSING HIS FATHER TO
KIDNEY FAILURE, AT TIMES GETTING
CANDID ABOUT HIS OWN GUILT AND
FRUSTRATION WITH THE DISEASE.
>> I SUFFERED WHAT I THINK MANY
GO THROUGH, WHICH IS THE GUILT
THAT YOU MISSED THE BOAT, THE
CLUES.
CLUES. AND BECAUSE WE DIDN’T TELL EACH
OTHER THE TRUTH IN MY FAMILY, IT
DELAYED EVERYTHING.
DELAYED EVERYTHING. >> THE TRUTH, THE WARNING SIGNS
THAT SO MANY MISS.
>> WE ALL THINK WE’LL FIGURE IT
OUT WHEN IT’S HAPPENING BECAUSE
IT’S SO EASY.
I’M HERE TO TELL YOU, IT’S NOT
EASY TO FIND THAT SLITHERING
SNAKE IN THE GRASS.
>> DR. OZ DID NOTICE A SIGN, HE
SAYS HIS MOTHER WAS MORE
STUBBORN THAN USUAL WHICH LED TO
HER GETTING TESTED FOR THE
DISEASE THIS SUMMER.
DOCTORS CONFIRMED SHE HAD
ALZHEIMER’S.
ALZHEIMER’S. >> AND I SEE HER BEAUTIFUL EYES
GOING GRAY AND GOING
THOUGHTLESS.
THOUGHTLESS. I SEE THE MEMORIES MEMTLTING AWA
AND I REALIZE I COULD HAVE
SLOWED THAT DOWN, IF I HAD
THOUGHT ABOUT IT, HER OWN SON
MISSED IT.
MISSED IT. >> DOES IT SCARE YOU ABOUT YOU.
>> IT SCARES ME BIG TIME ABOUT
ME.
ME. >> DR. OZ WAS TESTED FOR HIS
RISK OF DEVELOPING THE DISEASE,
AND REVEALED THE RESULTS ON HIS
SHOW, WHERE HE LEARNED HE
CARRIES ONE OF THE GENES FOR
ALZHEIMER’S BUT HE ALSO CARRIES
A PROTECTIVE GENE AS WELL.
>> THAT’S BETTER.
.
. >> AS A FATHER, AND GRANDFATHER,
HE WORRIES ABOUT THE FUTURE OF
HIS OWN FAMILY.
AND THE THOUGHT OF LOSING HIS
MOTHER.
MOTHER. >> AND I HAD A GREAT BIT OF NEWS
WHEN DAPHNE HAD HER BABY GIRL,
DAPHNE IS MY OLDEST DAUGHTER, MY
MOM IS CLOSE.
MY MOM REMEMBERED DAPHNE BUT
COULDN’T PROCESS THE DAUGHTER
PART AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU
REALIZE, THERE WILL BE A DAY
WHEN MY MOM FORGETS ME.
HER FIRST BORN SON.
THAT’S TOUGH.
THAT’S TOUGH. >> DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?
>> YEAH, I’M GOING TO LOSE MY
MOM TWICE, RIGHT.
I’LL LOSE THE WOMAN I LOVE, AND
LOVED ME.
LOVED ME. AND THEN ONE DAY I’LL LOSE HER
BODY.
BODY. BUT IT WON’T BE AT THE SAME
TIME.
TIME. >> WOW.
>> WOW. THAT’S A REALLY REALLY REVEALING
INTERVIEW, DR. OZ.
>> I’VE GOT TO SAY, THOUSANDS
AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WROTE ON
SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER FORMS TO
ME, AND ABOUT HALF OF THEM, IT
WAS BECAUSE IT WAS A SHARED
EXPERIENCE.
EXPERIENCE. I HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY OF US ARE
GOING THROUGH THIS.
16 MILLION AMERICANS TAKING CARE
OF THEIR LOVED ONES, ABOUT 6
MILLION PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER’S
AND IT’S THE SAME STORY.
THEY LOSE THEIR TRUTH AS OUR
FAMILY DID.
FAMILY DID. WE STRUGGLE.
WE STRUGGLE. WHO WANTS TO BE THE ONE THAT
PUTS THEIR HAND UP AND SAYS,
THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH
MOM.
MOM. >> YOU FEEL LIKE IF YOU’RE AN
OPTIMIST, SHE FORGOT.
SHE LOOKS GREAT TODAY.
I CAN UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW YOUR
MOM, YOU WOULDN’T THINK TO GO
DOWN THAT ROAD, SO WHAT WAS IT
THAT MADE YOU SAY YES, WE HAVE
TO GO DOWN THAT ROAD.
>> MY MOM WAS ALWAYS VERY
STUBBORN, KNOWN FOR BEING
STUBBORN, BUT SHE BECAME SO
OBSTINATE ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS.
I BEGAN TO REALIZE IT DIDN’T
MAKE SENSE, AND IT WAS BECAUSE
SHE WASN’T UNDERSTANDING WHAT I
WAS GETTING AT.
AND THAT’S WHAT I WANTED TO
SHARE WITH EVERYBODY, SO THEY
DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES I
DID.
DID. IT’S NOT OBVIOUS TO FIND THE
SIGNS BUT THEY’RE THERE,
PROBLEMS WITH BASIC JUDGMENT
ABOUT SPACE.
ABOUT SPACE. MOM WANTS TO PUT A SOFA OVER
HERE AND MOVE IT TO THIS CORNER,
IT WON’T FIT THERE, AND YOU
THINK, MOM DOESN’T HAVE GOOD
SPATIAL RELATIONS, MOM’S NOT
PROCESSING INFORMATION.
PROCESSING INFORMATION. WORD SEARCHING, MY MOM IS AN
ARTICULATE WOMAN, INSTEAD OF
BEAUTIFUL, SHE WOULD SAY MORE
PRETTIER.
PRETTIER. SHE WOULD HAVE TO GET AROUND
WORDS SHE COULDN’T REMEMBER.
THESE ARE SUBTLE CLUES, AND I
SAY THEM NOW, THEY ARE OBVIOUS
TO ME.
TO ME. WHEN THEY WERE HAPPENING, I
DENIED IT, I DIDN’T WANT TO
BELIEVE IT.
BELIEVE IT. MY FATHER GOD BLESS IT, ENABLED
SOME OF THAT.
HE DIDN’T WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE
HIS 60 YEARS OF MARRIAGE HAD A
PROBLEM HE COULDN’T CURE.
HE WAS A DOCTOR TOO.
>> YOU TALKED ABOUT FEELING
GUILTY, WHICH OF COURSE, YOU
KNOW, WE’RE ALL JUST HUMAN DOING
THE BEST THAT WE CAN, I HOPE YOU
DON’T FEEL GUILTY, BUT WHAT
COULD YOU HAVE DONE ANYWAY?
I MEAN, EVEN IF YOU HAD GOTTEN
THE DIAGNOSIS, HOW COULD YOU
HAVE HELPED?
HAVE HELPED? >> THE BIG BREAKTHROUGH ID,
WE’RE NOT GREAT AT TREATING
ALZHEIMER’S YET, WE HAVE GOOD
IDEAS OF HOW TO REDUCE THE
CHANCE OF IT STARTING,
PREVENTING IT FROM OCCURRING,
AND THAT’S WHAT I WENT THROUGH.
ONCE YOU KNOW THOSE SIGNS AND
WE’LL PUT THE SIGNS UP ON
TODAY.COM, I WANT TO SHARE WHAT
I LEARNED WHEN I WENT THROUGH
THE INTENSIVE EVALUATION BECAUSE
WHAT I WENT THROUGH IS WHAT
EVERYONE SHOULD BE GOING
THROUGH.
THROUGH. FIRST OFF IF WE DO THE THINGS TO
PREVENT ALZHEIMER’S, OUR BRAINS
ACTUALLY GET YOUNGER, WE
REMEMBER WORDS QUICKER, GET
SHARPER, THERE’S A BENEFIT TODAY
AS WELL AS AVOIDING ALZHEIMER’S
BUT FIRST THING, IF YOU CAN SEE
YOUR BELLY, EVERYONE IN AMERICA,
LOOK DOWN, IF YOU CAN SEE YOUR
BELLY, I CAN TELL YOU YOUR BRAIN
IS SHRINKING, BIG BELLY MEETS
SMALL BRAIN.
SMALL BRAIN. YOU START TO PREDISPOSE YOURSELF
TO CONDITIONS LIKE ALZHEIMER’S.
IT WILL HELP THINGS LIKE
CHOLESTEROL, AND ANY KIND OF
ACTIVITY THAT’S REGIMENTED AND
RIGOROUS, INTERMITTENT RAPID --
>> LIKE PHYSICAL STUFF, LIKE
SPRINTING QUICKLY FOR A MINUTE,
IT’S THOSE TYPES OF TRAINING
THAT ARE VALUABLE, AND REALLY
THINGS LIKES MEDITATION AND
PRAYER WAIL WORK BECAUSE YOU
EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN IN A
DIFFERENT WAY.
DIFFERENT WAY. AND IT’S IMPORTANT TO DO THAT
BECAUSE YOU BUILD NEW
CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE SIN.
>> HOW IS YOUR MOM DOING?
>> SHE REMEMBERS A LOT.
IT HURTS ME THAT I HAVE TO
REPEAT EVERY DAY THAT SHE HAS
ANOTHER GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER BUT
IT’S THE LONG TERM GAIN I’M