Letters to the Editor: What would actually help with the youth mental health crisis?
In short, they lay out the ever-present case that there are many teens who are floundering and present their own pet ideas without much justification as to how to solve this problem. Of course, young people regularly attending any type of wholesome event weekly will be more likely to feel better about themselves, whether it is a religious service, Boy Scout/Girl Scout meetings or other youth groups or school clubs. Of course, parents paying more attention to their teens by spending time doing positive things with them will help.
It is unfortunate that with all the positive things that could be suggested, these authors use an ever-present problem to steer everyone toward what seem to be their personal favorite solutions rather than attempting to suggest that parents find things that might work for their and their child's personal situations.
Michael Lampel, Granada Hills

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USA Today
22-06-2025
- USA Today
When Caregiving Becomes Identity: Lynn Wenger's Real, Raw Journey Through Alzheimer's
What does it mean to love someone slowly forgetting who you are? For Lynn Wenger, the author of A Husband's Memoir: A Journey Through Alzheimer's, love wasn't just about showing up in the early days for his wife. It was about staying even when the person you knew began to fade, and every familiar rhythm was replaced with uncertainty. In the book, Lynn pulls back the curtain on a quiet transformation that took place when his wife was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at just 59 years old. He transformed from a devoted husband into a full-time caregiver, and that shift ultimately cost him. Before all this, Lynn was a self-made man from rural Iowa who built a successful career in construction consulting. Wendy was a registered nurse with a quick wit and a huge heart. She was the kind of person who showed up for her friends, volunteered at the local preschool, and still made time for church choir and book club. Together, they raised a family, built a life, and shared memories. This memoir, written in the months and years following his wife Wendy's diagnosis, isn't just about navigating the realities of Alzheimer's. It's about identity, grief, and what happens until you can't tell where love ends and caregiving begins. A Role He Never Trained For Lynn is no stranger to structure. He's a scheduler and a planner — someone who ran multi-million-dollar construction jobs with near-photographic precision. However, not even decades of professional precision or life experience could prepare him for the difficulties of caregiving. The shift from partner to caregiver was instantaneous and irreversible. Conversations grew harder. Decisions became heavier. "I wasn't just helping her," Lynn writes. "I was feeding her, dressing her, calming her down, watching for the next meltdown, trying to hold her world together while mine was quietly falling apart." The Isolation No One Sees In the outside world, Lynn kept things moving — balancing his work, organizing church events, staying involved in their local Boy Scout troop, and checking in with neighbors. But behind closed doors, life was shrinking. Time for himself became non-existent. So did the ability to sleep through the night. He wasn't just managing Wendy's care; he was carrying the emotional weight of every change. Her moods. Her confusion. Her sudden fear of water, loud noises, or unfamiliar places. Her eventual inability to recognize their own home. "There were days I couldn't even leave the room," Lynn writes. "Not because I had nowhere to go, but because she didn't want to let go of my hand." Lynn describes the kind of loneliness that only caregivers know, where you're never physically alone but constantly longing for a connection that used to be effortless. A Grief That Starts Too Soon In his reflections, Lynn speaks to a grief that begins long before a life ends. As Wendy's cognitive decline accelerated, moments of clarity became rare and precious. She could still sing along to their favorite 70s music. She could still flash her signature sense of humor. But those sparks were fleeting. "You don't just grieve the person," Lynn explains. "You grieve your life together. The future you planned. The roles you once shared." He captures the irony of being both deeply needed and gradually invisible — of loving someone who no longer knows they love you back. Regret, Real Talk, and a Little Grace Lynn's story is the unmistakable voice of a man doing his best. But also, the honesty of a man who wrestles with guilt. Guilt for the moments he spent working instead of sitting by her side. Guilt for the times he didn't recognize a symptom until it was too late. Guilt for simply needing a break. "If I could go back," he writes, "I'd trade every spreadsheet and scout meeting for one more walk around the block with her." However, Lynn doesn't let bitterness cloud his writing; he shares a unique perspective. Lynn's regrets are balanced by deep wells of grace, reminding caregivers everywhere that they're human — and doing more than enough. A Husband's Memoir: A Journey Through Alzheimer's does more than tell one couple's story. It shines a light on the hidden world of caregiving and how it involves sacrifice, resilience, humor, and heartbreak. Lynn doesn't gloss over the hard parts. Instead, he shares them so that others might feel less alone. Where Lynn Is Now Wendy passed away in early 2024 at just 64 years old. Lynn has since become an advocate for Alzheimer's awareness, supporting research and helping organize his local Walk to End Alzheimer's. He's been approached about leading support groups, especially for husbands and partners who, like him, never expected to become full-time caregivers. And he's open about the fact that he's still grieving, still figuring it all out. 'People think the hard part ends when they pass,' he says. 'But grief has its own timeline. It doesn't check your calendar.' For more information regarding Lynn and Wendy's story and to order the book, "A Husband's Memoir: A Journey Through Alzheimer's," go to: This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider.

Los Angeles Times
19-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: What would actually help with the youth mental health crisis?
To the editor: Guest contributors Naomi Schaefer Riley and Sally Satel present a case of wanting better parenting by pulling out an unconnected list of problems, behaviors and observations concerning teens and their parents ('What kids need — and adults need to know — to combat the youth mental health crisis,' June 17). Lack of religion, lack of strong relationships, easy access to cannabis (without reference to access to other drugs like alcohol, depressants, medications, etc.) and the increasing number of single-family households. In short, they lay out the ever-present case that there are many teens who are floundering and present their own pet ideas without much justification as to how to solve this problem. Of course, young people regularly attending any type of wholesome event weekly will be more likely to feel better about themselves, whether it is a religious service, Boy Scout/Girl Scout meetings or other youth groups or school clubs. Of course, parents paying more attention to their teens by spending time doing positive things with them will help. It is unfortunate that with all the positive things that could be suggested, these authors use an ever-present problem to steer everyone toward what seem to be their personal favorite solutions rather than attempting to suggest that parents find things that might work for their and their child's personal situations. Michael Lampel, Granada Hills


Fox News
07-06-2025
- Fox News
Medical professionals say schools have gotten too political, citing ‘unscientific modes of thinking'
Two medical professionals argued in a new report that "medical school has gotten too political," citing "unscientific modes of thinking." "Medical students are now immersed in the notion that undertaking political advocacy is as important as learning gross anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology," the authors wrote in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Sally Satel, a lecturer in psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, and Thomas S. Huddle, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Heersink School of Medicine, cited several instances of political sentiments affecting the medical school industry. They noted that researchers are "promoting unscientific modes of thinking about group-based disparities in health access and status." "The University of Minnesota's Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity decrees 'structural racism as a fundamental cause of health inequities,' despite the fact that this is at best an arguable thesis, not a fact. (The center was shut down last month.) The Kaiser Family Foundation states that health differentials 'stem from broader social and economic inequities,'" the authors write. Satel and Huddle pushed further by detailing an incident that occurred at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center. The institution not only called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, the authors wrote that staff chanted "intifada, intifada, long live intifada!" which "echoed into patients' rooms." The New York Times reported last summer that the protesters at the University of California, San Francisco, chanting "intifada" consisted of medical students and doctors. Such an incident lays out more deeply the consequences of medical schools prioritizing politics over instruction on professional imperatives, according to the authors. "These doctors were not putting patients first — if anything, they were offending and intimidating patients. They were putting their notion of social justice first," they wrote. The two medical professionals cite other instances where medical schools are steeped in politics, such as endorsing "racial reparations" and instituting "antiracism" training in order to qualify for a medical license in the wake of George Floyd's death. Satel and Huddle offer medical professionals "guidelines" for how to "responsibly" meet patients' needs while leveraging their "professional standing to effect change", including advocating for policies that "directly help patients and are rooted in professional expertise while ensuring that their advocacy does not interfere with their relationships with their colleagues, students, and patients." Satel, a practicing psychiatrist, told Fox News Digital that she is the medical director of a methadone clinic that represents a clinical setting. In response to Fox News Digital's request for comment, Huddle said that his "academic career has been as a clinician teaching how to care for patients while caring for them."