I saw this on ABC News on Friday. It took a tremendous amount of courage to announce this to the audience and he should be congratulated on the way he handled it. The guy's been on TV in NYC for decades, and even once hosted Good Morning America on the network during the weekends. 

I wish him well. My mother had this disease and I can only hope one day, somehow, there's a decent treatment or even a cure. It's actually harder on the caregiver - of whom I was once one - than the patient. And I can speak from experience when I say it's a heartbreaker because the person suffering from it is figuratively dying, sometimes for years, right in front of your eyes and there's nothing you can do to stop it. 

So while I wish Mr. Ritter well, I wish even more for his family. They will bear the burden of this and it won't be easy. 

RadioAaron wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

I wish him well. My mother had this disease and I can only hope one day, somehow, there's a decent treatment or even a cure. It's actually harder on the caregiver - of whom I was once one - than the patient. And I can speak from experience when I say it's a heartbreaker because the person suffering from it is figurativley dying, sometimes for years, right in front of your eyes and there's nothing you can do to stop it.  

I'm sorry you had to go through that; I am now with both my parents and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. My own fear is my body outlasting my mind. 
 

Yes, I have that fear, too, because it can run in families.

They say the way to know when to worry is:

If you forget a name or an appointment time and you're getting older, that's age.
If you forget how to get home in the car on a route you've taken a thousand times, that's a warning.
And that's when you should see someone. 

Paul Jeffries wrote:

My mother is currently suffering from dementia, and watching someone you love disintegrate bit by bit is extremely hard. You take whatever moments of familiarity you get and cherish them.


PJ

I wish you well on this "journey," although I really hate that term. Just cherish your family member every day. As hard as it is, they won't be there forever. I can tell you I became my mother's primary care giver and did it for 10 years before we had no choice and had to put her in a home. It was the last thing she ever wanted but towards the end, it was too dangerous for her to live in her own place. 

I will say it was the hardest thing I've ever done. But as I look back on it now some seven years after her passing, I can honestly say it was the most rewarding and selfless thing I've ever done. And as bad as it could be, I wish I could still do it for her. 

I know this isn't about radio, but it is about life. And some things are more important. 

Thank you for your kind words and advice, RA.


PJ
 

Paul Jeffries wrote:

Bill Ritter, longtime anchor for WABC-TV, announced this past Friday that he was stepping down from his anchor desk duties after receiving a diagnosis of early stage Alzheimer's, but still plans to be a journalist for the station.

Mr. Ritter plans to cover stories about  Alzheimer's and similar diseases and how they affect patients and their families. Mr. Ritter joined the station in 1998, which sadly, was the same year he lost his father to the disease.


Beloved WABC Anchor Bill Ritter steps away from the anchor desk; reveals Alzheimer's diagnosis


PJ

 
I hate reading about Alzheimer’s, probably because it scares the hell out of me and I really feel for families that have to deal with it. Sad news about Bill Ritter, although he was still working at 76, which is rare.

RadioActive wrote:

Now here's a tie-in I wasn't expecting - combining radio with dementia. A group in England has started an online station, divided into decades, for those suffering from the disease. It's designed to evoke memories of a certain time in their lives, with few interruptions, and the hope is the music it provides will stir something in them.

"Listeners can tune into m4d Radio’s mix station or one of four further stations playing music by decade from the 1930s to the 1970s. The group of five radio stations includes programming schedules designed to follow th e rhythm of the day including sessions on Music to move to, Music from the Musicals, Soothing tracks for sundowning and nighttime, and Featured Artists."

It's free and you don't have to be in England to listen. You can sample it and pick your decade here. 

Music for Dementia launches m4d Radio

This reminds me of a niche technology video from Techmoan from a few years back. The product is a specially designed UK market DAB & FM radio and digital audio player for persons suffering from serious cognitive impairment. It's controlled mainly by a set of four adjustable tuner presets, three of which are dedicated to the radio tuner with the third being the access button for the USB audio player. The radio presets are controlled by a settings controller situated at the back of the radio behind the battery cover. It also features a USB slot capable of playing certain audio files from a USB flash drive, although it failed to properly decode the audio files he used on the first flash drive he tried to use, the other one, a Sandisk drive worked fine. This, of course, would also be useful in North America and other parts of the world that use the 88-108 MHz band for FM stations. For those reading this who are not savvy about radio technology, the DAB tuner will only work in Europe and places where DAB is used, which it isn't in North America and in band III VHF.


 

Last edited by tdotwriter (June 19, 2026 4:05 pm)

RadioActive wrote:

That British music service offers a pretty eclectic music mix you don't often get to hear - and no commercials! Because of its orginating country, it also offers a plethora of U.K. hits that never came over here. You don't have to suffer from the disease to listen to it, and the sound - at least on my laptop - is excellent. 

 
I checked out the m4d site and liked it! I listened to the 70s mix and you’re right, I heard a couple and of songs that I hadn’t heard in decades as they don’t get played over here. I also checked out the 60s and 80s, also good stuff. And the sound was impressive, on laptop and tablet. Thanks for sharing this RA, great site!