30 JUN 2024 · Can love survive the onslaught of chronic illness? Writer Sarah Cart shares how she became one of 39 million Americans taking care of an ailing loved one in ON MY WAY BACK TO YOU, One Couple’s Journey through Catastrophic Illness to Healing and Hope (Forefront Books; April 2, 2024). “My husband, Ben, just past his mid-fifties, was irrepressibly healthy and energetic until, suddenly, he wasn’t.” In suspenseful and heart-rending detail, Cart recounts how, beginning with an incurable autoimmune disease, her husband developed one life-threatening condition after another. As each month passed, she felt her best friend, this brilliant businessman, successful entrepreneur, and energetically engaged and organized father to their four sons, slipping away, until eventually they received devastating news: Ben needed a heart transplant. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Two weeks after the COVID-19 lockdown, they realized Ben’s body was shutting down and his only hope was to get on the list and get that transplant now—in the midst of a pandemic.   And that wasn’t even half of what was to come.  Thrust into the role of nurse and caregiver, Cart required a deep well of faith, grit, and grace as she confronted doubts, fears, endless setbacks, aggravations, and red tape while struggling to help Ben regain whatever he could of all that had been lost.  Cart reminds us that “there is certainly no promise that the health we enjoy this evening will be with us in the morning” and provides guidance for others in her shoes. Sooner or later, everyonewill either become a caregiver or need one. To help when time comes, she shares the questions to ask, the notes to take, the signs to never overlook, and the self-care necessary for the caregiver.   ON MY WAY BACK TO YOU is more than a chronicle of Ben’s illness. It’s about love, resiliency, and the power of community: “When Ben was in the hospital, I felt all the people who’d ever loved him shining their light from the far reaches of the universe each time I begged them to do so.” It’s a roadmap through some of life’s greatest challenges and the journey of two people who used the power of love, determination, and endless patience to find their way back to each other. 

30 JUN 2024 · The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes Older Americans Month to empower older adults (ages 65 and older) to age without injury while still enjoying the hobbies and activities they love.  http://www.cdc.gov/stillgoingstrong is a national campaign from CDC raising awareness about common yet preventable injuries as we age. The campaign provides simple steps older adults and caregivers can do to improve social connectedness and prevent common injuries.  This year’s theme, Powered by Connection, organized by the Administration for Community Living, emphasizes the profound impact that meaningful relationships and social connections have on our health and well-being.  According to https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-wellbeing/social-connectedness/affect-health.htm#Reference1, maintaining strong social connections with family and friends plays a vital role in supporting independence and overall aging. https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-wellbeing/social-connectedness/affect-health.htm#Reference1 shows that social connectedness can lead to longer life, better health, and improved well-being. The Still Going Strong campaign equips older adults with tools to reduce social isolation and loneliness.  It also helps them to avoid the leading causes of unintentional injuries among older adults such as falls, motor vehicle crashes, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Older adults experiencing social isolation and loneliness have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and suicidal ideation.  There are steps older adults and their caregivers can take to improve social connectedness that helps to maintain their quality of life and stay independent longer. During interviews, a wellness expert and/or a CDC official would discus  Dr. Gwen Bergen serves as the team lead for the Safety Promotion Team in the Applied Sciences Branch of the Division of Injury Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. The Safety Promotion Team’s primary focuses are the prevention of drownings and older adult falls. Prior to becoming team lead, she was a behavioral scientist on the team working on older adult fall prevention for seven years. Her emphasis was on implementing and evaluating clinical fall prevention strategies and understanding older adult injury prevention attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and designing evidence-based tools to encourage them to adopt behaviors to reduce their injury risk. Her previous CDC experience includes five years on the Transportation Safety Team with a focus on alcohol-impaired driving, older adult mobility, and data linkage, and two years as a fellow at the National Center for Health Statistics working on injury data. She received her Master of Public Health degree from the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and her doctoral degree, both in social and behavioral science with an emphasis in injury prevention, from Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Bergen joins Mark Alyn on this edition of Late ight Health.

29 JUN 2024 · What does it take to become an ace golfer or chess whiz? Is the ability to speak multiple languages, rock at playing the violin, or write a bestseller reserved for the rare and gifted? In Mastery: How Learning Transforms Our Brains, Minds, and Bodies, noted psychologist and author Arturo E. Hernandez, Ph.D., reveals how the skills we marvel at and yearn to possess are not born or built purely through discipline. Instead, as he makes clear, new skills bloom from combining, recombining and layering small parts that represent an amazing new whole.    In Mastery, Dr. Hernandez explores and expands upon these 6 Secrets to Building Your Brain Power:   - How to apply the right kind of practice—deliberate yet flexible—and focus on engagement rather than the rigid, single-minded quest for perfection. - Why learning early matters—yes, it’s easier for youngsters to pick up new skills—but how older people have the advantage of broader connections and diverse experiences. - The impact of our innate human ability, present at birth, is to recognize and pay attention to faces in reading and writing, which is the road to new skills later in life. - The role of genetics in aptitude and talent—and why a gene rarely does any of its work alone.  - The surprising effects of pressure (both external and self-imposed) and emotions (including anger) on performance in areas of expertise from tennis to piano. - How to master the five principles of mastery: will (what do you want to do or learn?), ability (what are you good at?), opportunity, flexibility and clarity (what matters to you?).   “The process of learning something new or becoming better at something we already know applies to everyone,” Dr. Hernandez observes. “Whether we are a professional in a sport, a polyglot who speaks at least eleven languages, or just learning something new and becoming good at it, the same rules apply. No matter our ultimate level of expertise, we humans are adept at taking a bunch of little pieces and creating a much bigger whole. Our gift as humans—our defining feature—is the emergent process that leads to mastery.” Throughout the book, Dr. Hernandez shares fascinating stories of experts, such as Dan McLaughlin, who laid out a plan to become a golf pro to Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist who struggled with a secret malady: difficulty remembering people’s faces. Mastery reveals the path to startling potential for anyone seeking to learn a new skill or teach someone else to do the same, improve their proficiency at what they already enjoy doing, or better understand how our brains evolve and excel.  Dr. Hernandez visits with Mark Alyn on Late Night Health.

29 JUN 2024 · It’s no secret that retailers know every trick in the book to make their customers buy their goods.  How exactly does the luxury goods industry work and is “retail therapy” healthy for us? In his second novel, AMY UNBOUND, longtime fashion industry insider Martin Sneider offers, according to former Bloomingdale’s Vice-Chairman Frank Doroff, “…a peek inside a fashion empire, and a family in turmoil…..”  Opening in 2009, Amy Unbound continues the saga of the Feldman family—focusing on Josh’s wife. Martin Sneider captures the toll of the drive for success in a marriage while drawing readers into another volatile, adrenaline-fueled world: politics. Amy throws herself into her work and begins to question her marriage. While Amy flirts with a dangerous romantic relationship, her husband, Josh, comes to terms with the cost of his obsession with leading a fashion retail empire. Martin Sneider visits with Mark Alyn on this edidtion of Late Night Health.

19 JUN 2024 · JScreen is a national non-profit public health initiative dedicated to preventing genetic diseases. Headquartered in Atlanta at Emory University School of Medicine, the JScreen initiative provides convenient at-home access to cutting-edge genetic testing technology, patient education and genetic counseling services. JScreen believes the combination of education, access to premier gene screening technologies and personalized, confidential support are the keys to preventing these devastating diseases. The goal is to get as many people tested for both genetic diseases and for genetic cancers. For genetic diseases it allows future parents to gain insights into their genetic reproductive risks, empowering them to plan ahead for the health of their future children. It is also provides an opportunity to explore their own hereditary cancer risks and proactive measures they can adopt to safeguard their own well-being. The goal is to educate people about how simple and easy genetic testing and affordable.  All you have to do is order a saliva test, return to Jscreen and your results are presented to you by telemedicine from a genetic counselor. JScreen stands as a beacon of hope, providing accessible and informative genetic testing and counseling via at-home saliva kits. JScreen’s ReproGEN test, tailored for individuals aged 18-45, screens for over 200 genetic diseases, including Tay-Sachs and cystic fibrosis. Empowering prospective parents with informed family planning information is the core of this comprehensive approach.   JScreen’s CancerGEN offers at-home testing for more than 60 cancer susceptibility genes associated with hereditary risks for breast, ovarian, prostate, colorectal, skin and many other cancers.  One of JScreen’s goals is to make testing affordable. ReproGEN currently costs $149 and CancerGEN is $199. JScreen also offers need-based financial assistance. http://www.jscreen.org/ Karen Grinzaid, Exeutive Director, visits with Mark on this edition. 

19 JUN 2024 · When Late Night Health’s Mark Alyn chats with Robert Feldman, CEO, president and co-founder of WOWS Insurance Services, they are apt to reengineer fire insurance and help homeowners sleep at night.   WOWS Insurance Services specializes in fire zones and areas where insurance is difficult to place and has launched an innovative new product that provides homeowners insurance, including fire coverage, for high end properties in the Western United States.   The timing couldn’t be better.   This new option has launched at the same time as many insurance carriers are exiting the state of California and others.   Homeowners who have not yet received communication from their current homeowners insurance company are often afraid to open their mail when that letter arrives.   With WOWS insurance, insureds get protection and ease skyrocketing homeowners insurance costs, saving up to six figures. And when it’s time to sell, coverage is transferable, adding a premium touch to their listing, enhancing their property, and standing out to potential buyers.   WOWS provides brokers with an advantage in fire insurance coverage, standing out from competitors. Learn more about WOWS Insurance Services at https://wowsinsurance.com/. Robert Feldman is an insurance professional with 25 years of experience. His specialty is insurance in fire zones and hard to place risks. Due to his expertise, Robert has been sought after as a speaker at the California Association of Realtors, educating realtors about how to secure insurance for homes that are deemed uninsurable. Feldman also serves on numerous task forces, working with the senior leadership for many insurance carriers to solve the state’s current insurance crisis.

18 JUN 2024 · “From the worst of places to the best of intentions.”  That’s GC Brown’s motto. You’ll learn a lot more about GC Brown when he converses with Late Night Health’s Mark Alyn.  Remarkably, despite being a felon who’s just finished serving 16 years in multiple federal facilities, GC Brown believes this sentence was the best thing that ever happened to him. What? How is that possible? GC Brown became a writer during his confinement. Had he not been imprisoned, that would not have happened. He read a newspaper article that said that writing a novel is the third hardest thing to do. That’s when GC Brown picked up a pen. That was in 2014. He hasn’t stopped writing since. That’s how he completed two series, SNIFF, SMOKE, SHOOT, and The Mason Storm Series prior to his release late last year.  And GC Brown loves being an author. SNIFF, published by Story Merchant Books, his first novel to be published, due out November 1, is exciting, action-packed, hard-hitting and plain-speaking with some tough language and wild scenarios. He’s also one of three partners in UpCup Koffee, a mushroom coffee company in which he’s partnered with two other felons, Alex Diaz, who was released in 2015, and Dr. William McArthur III, who was released in 2011.  Coincidentally, SNIFF publishes November 1 and the Koffee company launches on the same date. GC Brown is now a free man, determined to make up for lost time. There’s no question that he’s about to do so with his two series being published, SNIFF, SMOKE, SHOOT, and The MASON STORM Series, UpCup Koffee, his new bride, Carla, and their identical twin boys, Tristan and Trevor, due in September. Learn more at gcbrownbooks.com/.net/.org. 

18 JUN 2024 · LEARN HOW SPECIAL GRANTS ARE HAVING A POSITIVE LOCAL IMPACT  Kelly Goodejohn of Starbucks Foundaton Provides Important InformationAbout a Unique Program that is Helping More Than 2,800 Local Non-Profits Communities all across North America face many unique challenges. Experience shows that one of the the most successful ways address the various needs is with direct, local suppport at the neighborhood level. On June 17th, we have a special interview about a neighborhood grants program that supports local organizations that are empowering youth, fighting hunger, uplifting families and addressing homelessness and having a positive impact on many communities. Kelly Goodejohn, Social impact officer for Starbucks, will share details about The Starbucks Foundation’s Neighborhood Grants program, and how it is helping meet the needs of many communities. Starbucks has, of course, always been about great coffee, but through The Starbucks Foundation, it’s on a mission to nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection by working to strengthen local communities.  MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN COMMUNITIES:  TARGETED HELP — Positive impact led by partner nominations for local non-profit organizations to received small grants IMPACT — Five years and more than $20 MILLION in grants given COMMITMENT — A promise to contribute positively to communities  SPOKESPERSON BACKGROUND: Kelly Goodejohn is VP and Chief Social Impact Officer at Starbucks where she’s been working for 18 years. As part of the company’s community promise to contribute positively, she leads the community and social impact strategy including enabling partner engagement, developing social impact stores portfolio, community resilience programs and responding in times of disaster. With over 25 years of social impact and sustainability experience, Kelly has a relentless commitment to making a difference for all.

14 JUN 2024 · In her recently released memoir ON MY WAY BACK TO YOU, Sarah explains an universal story that was her own too, when she found herself one of 39 million Americans taking care of an ailing loved one, when her husband’s body just started shutting down and needed an immediate heart transplant.   Sarah not only shares a love story with her husband, his heroic work to heal back to good health but also tips to handle and cope while simultaneously processing, triaging and coordinating as a caregiver as a dedicated life-partner/spouse and parent. She explains how she did it all with devotion, grit and grace. This video offers a short synopsis in her own words  https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/161/8kbhriewhrmn2ep14vp7u0i5e/0/2724293a853c780eae82ce2ba7d969391fdc64ad81036a51f0e492aacb5f4709 During it all, which included long drives to clinics, concerns about pain medication, an unfounded complaint of elder care abuse, a broken hip and just so much more, Sarah remained full of gratitude as a way to combat anxiety and took away so many gifts as explained in ON MY WAY BACK TO YOU: ·         STRENGTH Being a caregiver forces you to realize you own strength·         PURPOSE You must continue to keep doing what you’re doing – it gives you much purpose even if filled with grit·         NO SUGAR COATING You can’t sugar coat – you must be accepting and vulnerable when sharing how the patient is doing and how you’re feeling and managing as a caregiver·         GIVE YOURELF SOME SPACE It also encourages you to give yourself grace and forgiveness during the most dark and challenging of moments, be kind. Take time to gather your own thoughts and emotions too.·         COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND SUPPORT You begin to really realize how strong a community you have both close-by and far away, if even a Zoom away·         GRATITUDE The ability to find and process gratitude becomes heightened in many ways ·         BE THERE You demonstrate and learn the simple act of showing-up and being there·         DEEPENS THE RELATIONSHIP It deepens how well you know someone·         PHYSICAL TOUCH  Just being able to hold hands or kiss on the forehead – is so much more appreciated after a loved one was ill and you were unable to be together·         HUMOR – Laughing helps as a couple when applicable·         THE GIFT OF ORGAN DONATIONS, SECOND CHANCES AND INTERCONNECTIONS Most of all, the gift of a young, healthy heart – she and her family are so thankful, despite it coming from what they must assume was a family living in tragedy and grief – but the organ donation system, is a reminder how we are all interconnected and the preciousness of LIFE – and as Sarah shares, she’s so thankful to have annoying and wonderful Ben still with her -She has an incredible amount of tips she explains extremely effectively and efficiently and says to consider ON MY WAY BACK TO YOU a primer on caregiving. It’s really a life-safer if you’re finding yourself suddenly in that role and simply not prepared.  Sarah joins Mark for a look at caregiving.

14 JUN 2024 · he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes Older Americans Month to empower older adults (ages 65 and older) to age without injury while still enjoying the hobbies and activities they love.  http://www.cdc.gov/stillgoingstrong is a national campaign from CDC raising awareness about common yet preventable injuries as we age. The campaign provides simple steps older adults and caregivers can do to improve social connectedness and prevent common injuries.  This year’s theme, Powered by Connection, organized by the Administration for Community Living, emphasizes the profound impact that meaningful relationships and social connections have on our health and well-being.  According to https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-wellbeing/social-connectedness/affect-health.htm#Reference1, maintaining strong social connections with family and friends plays a vital role in supporting independence and overall aging. https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-wellbeing/social-connectedness/affect-health.htm#Reference1 shows that social connectedness can lead to longer life, better health, and improved well-being. The Still Going Strong campaign equips older adults with tools to reduce social isolation and loneliness.  It also helps them to avoid the leading causes of unintentional injuries among older adults such as falls, motor vehicle crashes, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Older adults experiencing social isolation and loneliness have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and suicidal ideation.  There are steps older adults and their caregivers can take to improve social connectedness that helps to maintain their quality of life and stay independent longer. During interviews, a wellness expert and/or a CDC official would discuss: - Five ways to improve social connectedness, and why that can improve overall health/longevity. - The fact that unintentional injuries resulting from falls, accidents, or TBI are the 8th leading cause of death among older adults 65+. - How every second, an older adult falls in the U.S., and every year there are 9 million fall injuries that result in 3 million emergency dept. visits, 1 million hospitalizations, and 41,000 deaths.  - A 35% increase in fall death rates over the last decade. - Tips for being aware of and avoiding what can lead to falls and preventable injuries. Dr. Gwen Bergen visits with Mark.