An Alzheimer’s patient turns a life-changing diagnosis into a movement. After learning he has mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s, Mike Zuendel transformed fear into purpose, launching a national effort to remove the words like “dementia” from medical language and replace the stigmatizing terms with words that honor dignity. He reveals how early Alzheimer’s reshaped his daily life, why he chose to go public with his diagnosis and the importance of redefining what it means to live with cognitive impairment.
Guest: Mike Zuendel, Alzheimer’s patient and founder of Initiative to Change the “D-Word”
Then, a Navy veteran recounts an early morning medical emergency. What began as a strange ringing in his ears unraveled into a stroke diagnosis that exposed a hidden hole in his heart. He takes us back to that morning, discussing the minimally invasive procedure that saved his life and how the experience reframed his life’s purpose.
Guest: Robert “Navy Bob” Roncska, retired Navy commander, stroke survivor and founder of Leading with Love