So where is the PD Community Hero to take on a project of this kind???

May 10, 2009
Celebrity Showdown: Maria Shriver vs. Jenny McCarthy

5/10/09, Silicon Valley Moms Blog

What do Maria Shriver and Jenny McCarthy have in common? They're both attractive, famous women whose partners are even more famous men. They both use their fame to help promote awareness of dreaded diseases. And that's about it. One is responsible and provides useful information for families and caregivers, while the other rails against science and medicine and promotes ideas that are dangerous to public health.

Maria Shriver is currently working to educate the public about Alzheimer's Disease. I was fortunate to be part of a conference call with her this week organized by SVMoms founder, Jill Asher. Shriver told us about her latest project with HBO, "The Alzheimer's Project" -- a four-part documentary that will air beginning on Mother's Day. Her segment airs Monday night and tackles an aspect of the disease that as a Mom, a former journalist and the daughter of a father with Alzheimer's, she has insights on: how to help your children understand when a family member has Alzheimer's. She has published a book on this called "What's Happening to Grandpa?".

I'll be glued to my T.V. Monday night to watching the documentary. My Dad suffers from dementia due to Parkinsons Disease, and I'm always looking for ideas about how to explain it to my kids. The other episodes should be fascinating as well. One documents the latest scientific breakthroughs in Alzheimer's and the study of the brain, and one focuses on caregivers. You can also watch the entire documentary on HBO.com for free. Many groups are hosting free screenings of the documentary in cities all around the U.S.

[The balance of this blog piece pretty much sounds like a discussion in my oldest daughter's home about McCarthy's claims on autism...my youngest grandson is autistic.]