Reagan, Mondale and Alzheimer’s…a study in contrasts. The Minneapolis Star – Tribune and others reported on Joan Mondale’s death in a articles on 8-9 February 2014: Joan was the Vice President’s wife (Second Lady) during the Carter Administration…(1977-1981) It was later that her husband ran for president against Ronald Reagan and suffered a crushing landslide defeat in 1984… Joan Mondale died Monday February 3rd at age 83, was “remembered as a tenacious, driven woman who was a wife, mother, artist and activist over the course of her marriage to former Vice President Walter “Fritz’’ Mondale”…Joan was said to have entered the hospice early previous Friday… The funeral services were held at the Westminster Presbyterian Church (where the Mondale’s were members) on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis on Saturday 8 February following her death. It was reported that “Joan’s husband of 58 years along with her sons and family members were at her side when she died at Mount Olivet Careview Home in Minneapolis, where she received hospice care in her final days”… While there was wide news coverage, very little was reported as to the cause of her death by any source…“had been in declining health for years, especially since the death of her daughter, Eleanor, from brain cancer in 2011.”…She is surrounded by her family and loved ones as her life on this earth moves peacefully to its close. …”Her family announced the death but did not disclose the cause…”Her family announced the death in a statement released by Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, …. The cause was not specified”…”The family had announced Sunday that she had gone into hospice care, but declined to discuss her illness.” Other notices early in the week following Joan’s death simply advised as indicated above that the family did not wish to discuss her cause of death…a typical comment was: “who died Monday at age 83 after an extended illness…one notice advised early in the week that Memorials were preferred for Alzheimer’s and or Lewy Body research…this of course strongly suggested a connection with one or both of these diseases….later all such notices disappeared including any mention of the cause of death.. A diligent search revealed only one comment on cause of death and that was by Mondale’s former press secretary Al Eisele…he wrote the following for Huffpost…(2/4/2014)…”Joan Mondale: A Remembrance”…Joan Mondale was a lovely person. I was privileged to know her, first as a Washington correspondent for Minnesota newspapers when her husband was a U.S. senator, then as his press secretary when he was vice president and finally as an editor of The Hill when he was U.S. ambassador to Japan…Mrs. Mondale, 83, died at a hospice in Minneapolis Monday,…I have some sad memories of Mrs. Mondale … I attended the funeral of her daughter Eleanor, who died of brain cancer in 2011, a devastating experience for her and her family. I last saw her at a dinner in Washington in 2012, when she was first showing signs of the Alzheimer’s disease that caused her death…she didnt remember me but flashed a lovely smile that was her trademark. I wasnt offended, but grateful that I had been among the multitude of friends who were privileged to know her Eisele also authored a short article for the Falls Church News Press (Virginia) on 2/5/2-14 in which he ends his comments by: ”Ms. Mondale suffered from Alzheimer’s before passing.”…Eisele reveals what was obviously a known fact by family and close friends… Most will not spend the time as I did to find the truth and will move on to what they consider more important things…like how their favorite team is doing… I do not know the reason for the family hiding the cause of death or the cause of her illness. For the millions of victims of Alzheimer’s or other dementia diseases including caregivers, friends and relatives, this sort of thing can be very disconcerting, depressing and discouraging…it is literally a slap in the face to all including Joan…one only dishonors the victims of Alzheimer’s by hiding their cause of death…they are all fighting a battle to promote the awareness of these diseases and the horror of the diseases with the goal of promoting better funding, research and proper care practices…the top goal is to find a cure and put a stop to this terrible disease… Alzheimer’s is the 5th leading cause of disease death in the US and the only one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the US that has not seen a decline in death rates but rather has had a steady increase in death rates…the government funding is pathetic…even obesity gets 50 percent more money for research….we have an NIH research funding budget of over 140 billion per year and we give Alzheimer’s the 5th leading cause of death only ½ of one billion in research funds… By contrast…when President Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s five years after he left office, he sat down and personally wrote a goodbye letter to the American public telling them of his diagnosis…and he did it for all of the right reasons…it was to promote public awareness and perhaps a cure…here is his letter… Nov. 5, 1994 My Fellow Americans, I have been recently told that I am one of the millions of American who will be afflicted with Alzheimers Disease. Upon learning this news, Nancy and I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way. In the past Nancy suffered from breast cancer and I had my cancer surgeries. We found through our disclosure we were able to raise public awareness. We were happy that as a result many more people underwent testing. They were treated in early stages and able to return to normal healthy lives. So now, we feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it. At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share lifes journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters. Unfortunately, as Alzheimers Disease progresses, the family often bears a heavy burden. I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience. When the time comes I am confident that with your help she will face it with faith and courage. In closing, let me thank you, the American people for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President. When the Lord calls me home whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you my friends. May God always bless you. Sincerely, Ronald Reagan President Reagan died 10 years later from Alzheimer’s…the average is 8 years from time of diagnosis…Reagan was one of June’s favorites…even though June was in her own 8th year of her journey through the darkness of this disease, she saved the front page of the newspaper that covered President Reagan’s death…it was in the next year June had to be in a nursing home…she knew what was in store for her…here we are 17 years after June had her first symptoms and we are no closer to a cure simply because we continue with a selfish society as demonstrated here…at the present time most will probably reach my age which means that one half of them at that age are scheduled to die of Alzheimer’s or with Alzheimers.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 00:47:32 +0000
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