Here’s a shocking fact: 98% of dementia sufferers are being cared for at home. That’s shocking because it means that the caregiver is likely a family member, often a spouse or adult child.

Dementia victims suffer greatly and so do their caregivers, especially family members.

That’s why what Allyson Schrier is doing is so amazing. Allyson’s husband was diagnosed with a form of dementia when he was only 47. He never worked after that and Allyson became his caregiver.

She knew nothing about dementia, how it manifests, how it impacts the sufferer or how it was going to impact her and her kids.

But Allyson was not someone to throw up her hands and quit. She took the bunch of lemons that life had handed her and turned them into lemonade.

How she did that is the subject of our episode this week on The Art 2 Aging.

This week features a captivating story of a man named Tom Meschery.

If you’re a fan of the NBA, then you’ll likely remember Tom.

The Mad Russian. Number 14 for the Philadelphia and Golden State Warriors and the Seattle Supersonics. Teammate of Wilt Chamberlain.

When it comes to life stories, Tom has an amazing one. It starts with overcoming adversity as a child, rising to become a star in the NBA, staggering under the weight of a terminal illness at 65, finally meeting the love of his life and now writing mystery novels that sell well at the age of 85.

It could be a story sprung from the mind of a Hollywood screenwriter. But it isn’t. Because it’s true.

Tom was born Tomislav Mescheryiakov. His parents were Russian; his father an officer in the White Russian Army.

At the outset of the Russian Revolution, the family fled to Manchuria. But when the Japanese invaded China, Tom, his mother and sister spent the war in a Japanese internment camp before being allowed to emigrate to the United States.

Click the podcast link above to listen to this fascinating story.

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Dr. Warrick Bishop

If you know anyone who has seen a cardiologist, it was probably because their general practitioner was alerted to a potential problem and referred them to a heart specialist.

That’s often the pattern, particularly among older adults. In fact, those over the age of 65 are more prone to heart problems as the heart muscle begins to wear out.

Trouble arises when we take the heart for granted long enough that symptoms occur in the first place.

But what if there was a way to minimize potential heart problems or avoid them altogether, regardless of age?

Dr. Warrick Bishop believes that can be the case. Warrick is an Australian cardiologist who has written a number of best-selling books on heart health. More than that, though, Warrick is a doc with a difference.

He’s a preventative cardiologist. His primary aim and his sole approach is to prevent heart attacks from happening in the first place. And his website is where you can find his books, courses and membership to the Healthy Heart Network. Knowledge is power!

To listen to our interview with Dr. Bishop, click the link at the top of the page, subscribe for free, and enjoy the episode.