Ted Turner did an interview with Ted Koppel for CBS News, in which the CNN founder and media god revealed he’s been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.
According to the Mayo clinic, Lewy’s body dementia is a neurodegenerative disease that affects both the body and the mind. Those who suffer from it see not only signs of Parkinson’s disease, including slowed movement and rigid muscles, but also experience hallucinations and cognitive problems, such as confusion and memory loss. The mind eventually loses all control over the body and the patient can no longer walk.
Turner confirmed the disease’s symptoms, telling Koppel he suffers from fatigue and “forgetfulness.” He also talked of “euphoric highs and lows” he’s felt in the past — feelings that had once been diagnosed as manic depression but which he now knows were early symptoms of Lewy body demtnia.
The Mayo Clinic also notes that Lewy body dementia is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s, and that the two share many symptoms. According to his widow Susan Schneider Williams, Robin Williams reportedly suffered from it in his final days.
Turner, 79, also told Koppel about how he doesn’t watch the news much these days, not even the network he founded in 1980, saying it’s “stickin’ with politics a little too much.”
(Via CBS News)