ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION: IOWA CHAPTER TALKING BLACK MEN’S BRAIN HEALTH WITH DR. ROBERT W. TURNER II By Alzheimer’s Association Robert W. Turner II, Ph.D., is co-principal investigator for the Black Men's Brain Health Emerging Scholars program, a former football player and a caregiver for his dad, who is living with Alzheimer’s. He talks to us about his focus on education around Alzheimer’s disease for retired Black athletes. Dr. Turner, tell us about your personal connection to Alzheimer's disease and your caregiving experience. Alzheimer’s hit close to home on the paternal side of my family. My dad is the third of his siblings to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, after my aunts Thelma and Eleanor. I’ve seen how Alzheimer’s can affect multiple generations all at once. I also saw how my aunts — who were single, adult women who had no one else in their lives caring for them — needed family to step up to advocate for them. The youngest of nine children, my dad always took on a lot of responsibility. His sister came to live with my parents as they were about to start enjoying retirement. Unfortunately, my mom had kidney disease, and on the heels of her kidney transplant, my dad developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI), later diagnosed as Alzheimer's, which progressed quickly into the moderate middle stage of the disease. It takes so much to care for someone. Today, we’re blessed to have a home health care worker, and me and my siblings are caregivers for our parents much of the time. It is very personal when you see this disease at work, and what a huge challenge it can be. It's hard for parents to allow their children to help them when they are so used to doing everything themselves. I understand the plight of family members who need to communicate with parents or grandparents to say: “You took care of me. Now I need to take care of you.” Today, me and one of my brothers are very much in charge of leading our parents' care, and I won't lie — it has been a real challenge, and a process. Once you recognize that, it helps you be a better caregiver, and better to How has your career trajectory shaped you, from student athlete to gerontologist? Being a Black man has affected me more than anything in my sports or education background. It is the one constant thing that shapes me as a person. Black men make up 70% of NFL players, with nearly 60% of NCAA Division 1 college yourself. You can move from crisis management mode and transition to your new reality. ALZHEIMER
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