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Archives for February 2021

Tony Bennett is Not in San Francisco

February 15, 2021 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Tony Bennet’s story has now gone public. It is uncannily similar to Glen Campbell’s. Each was concertizing well into his moderate-to-late stage dementia. Deeply entrenched job functions are some of the last skills people with dementia lose.

Mr. Bennett’s wife and son have begun to speak out. The article says Mr. Bennett started showing signs of Alzheimer’s in 2015.

Tony Bennett has a $200 Million net worth, yet it sounds like he has no long-term care insurance (LTCi).

“Susan Bennett is serving as her husband’s caregiver.” Why? The article describes Mr. Bennett as at the stage where he needs a lot of watching.

Even super-affluent people neglect formal planning for their LTCi. Even more surprising is when they get to the point where they need care, though they have virtually unlimited funds, these folks often still want to avoid spending their own money to pay for LTC!

I believe additional caregiver support would lower stress and enable Mrs. Bennet and her family experience a more qualitative relationship with her Mr. Bennett.

Hyper affluent people like the Bennetts are not too rich to own long-term care insurance (LTCi). Many hyper-affluent people do. LTCi makes sense for them financially. But many, like Peter Max, Brooke Astor, Penny Marshall, to name just a few, didn’t own LTC. They and their families suffered badly as a result. One might even conjecture they suffered worse, because there was more money for family to squabble over, and because  such folks are accustomed to 5-star comfort, dignity, security, which is not how their last months and years turned out.

Tony Bennett Reveals He Has Alzheimer’s Disease

“He’s not the old Tony anymore,” his wife, Susan, said. “But when he sings, he’s the old Tony.”

 

The singer Tony Bennett has announced that he has Alzheimer’s disease, writing on Twitter: “Life is a gift — even with Alzheimer’s.”
The singer Tony Bennett has announced that he has Alzheimer’s disease, writing on Twitter: “Life is a gift — even with Alzheimer’s.”Credit…Evan Agostini/Invision, via Associated Press
Sarah Bahr

By Sarah Bahr

  • Published Feb. 1, 2021Updated Feb. 2, 2021, 12:32 a.m. ET

Tony Bennett, the 94-year-old singer who has become a beloved interpreter of the American songbook, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, his wife, Susan, told AARP The Magazine this week.

“Life is a gift — even with Alzheimer’s,” the singer tweeted on Monday morning. “Thank you to Susan and my family for their support.”

Susan Bennett, and Tony Bennett’s eldest son, Danny, told the magazine that Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s — a degenerative brain disease that causes memory loss, among other things — in 2016.

According to the magazine, Bennett began showing symptoms in 2015. “Even his increasingly rare moments of clarity and awareness reveal the depths of his debility,” the article states. But it said that he had not experienced the disorientation that prompts some patients to wander off, or episodes of terror, rage or depression.

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Before the coronavirus pandemic, Bennett had continued to perform extensively. But backstage, relatives told the magazine, he could seem “mystified about his whereabouts.”

“But the moment he heard the announcer’s voice boom ‘Ladies and gentlemen — Tony Bennett!’ he would transform himself into performance mode, stride out into the spotlight, smiling and acknowledging the audience’s applause,” the piece said.

His wife, Susan, would watch nervously, worrying that he would forget a lyric. “I was a nervous frigging wreck,” she told the magazine. “Yet he always delivered!”

The early signs came in 2015, she told the magazine, when he began forgetting musicians’ names onstage, and began stashing a list on the piano, she said. But he knew something was wrong and wanted to see a doctor, she said, and he learned he had Alzheimer’s in 2016.

Susan Bennett said that he can still recognize family members, but the magazine reported that “mundane objects as familiar as a fork or a set of house keys can be utterly mysterious to him.”

Bennett, who has had a seven-decade-long career, scored his first big hit in 1951, “Because of You.” In 1962 he recorded “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which became his signature song. Long after other crooners had died or faded from the airwaves, Bennett experienced a resurgence in popularity: He won a Grammy for his 1994 album, “Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged.” Since then, he has recorded duets with a string of notables including James Taylor, Sting and Amy Winehouse.

He recorded an album with Lady Gaga in 2014, “Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard’s Top 200 pop and rock chart. According to the AARP article, a follow-up album with Lady Gaga, which was recorded between 2018 and early 2020, will be released this spring.

Lady Gaga was aware of Bennett’s condition when they were recording their most recent collaboration, the article said. In documentary footage of the sessions, Bennett rarely speaks, and offers one-word responses like “Thanks” or “Yeah.”

But his appetite for all things musical remains robust. According to the magazine, he continues to rehearse a 90-minute set twice a week with his longtime pianist, Lee Musiker — and does so without any of the haltingness that can characterize his speech.

More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, including one in 10 people age 65 or older. Symptoms may initially include repeating questions, getting lost in a familiar place or misplacing things, and may eventually progress to hallucinations, angry outbursts, and the inability to recognize family and friends or communicate at all. Alzheimer’s has no cure.

Susan Bennett is serving as her husband’s caregiver.

“I have my moments and it gets very difficult,” she told the magazine. “It’s no fun arguing with someone who doesn’t understand you.” But she added that they felt more fortunate than many other people living with Alzheimer’s.

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Bennett’s last public performance was in March at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, N.J. Before the coronavirus shut down live performances, he was touring often, singing a 90-minute set without cluing in audiences or critics that anything was amiss.

“He’s not the old Tony anymore,” Susan Bennett told the magazine. “But when he sings, he’s the old Tony.”

Filed Under: Denial, I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC Tagged With: long-term care, LTC costs, LTC Insurance, LTCi

Same Old Story

February 2, 2021 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Just a few months ago Al was enjoying his wife, family and traveling. An acute health event occurred – an aneurism, I think. Now Al will need a tremendous amount of long-term care, for a long time. His family was unprepared for this.

While the circumstances are not that unusual, this particular story hit me hard. Al is my age, only about 68; he was my high school classmate.

This couple had successful careers and saved for retirement. They were constructive, active, engaged, intelligent, business-literate people. But they didn’t prepare properly for long-term care (LTC). If their situation is like most I encounter, an ethical and wise professional, like me, probably knocked on their door many years ago asking to introduce them to how LTC insurance works. They decided they didn’t need LTC insurance and were comfortable enough to self-insure for LTC. After all, they probably wouldn’t need it.

They are now stoically in reactive mode, cobbling together Al’s plan of care, under duress. I bet they do have the money to self-insure for Al’s LTC but they’re reluctant to use it, especially because Al’s need for care could last decades.

Al may need round the clock care. If they had LTC in place, it would pay enough to at least offer respite, possibly changing the wife’s caregiver role enough so that she had opportunity to enjoy her husband’s company.

The following is his wife’s post, the names have been changed:

“Al was transferred to *** **** Lab on 1/18 and it took several more days to wait for Covid results. By the time I finally saw Al, 6 weeks had gone by since I called 911. The family had daily FaceTime conferences with Al while he was in the ICU, but nothing could have prepared me for how lethargic he appeared. Al did remember me, but correct orientation was so limited. I went into a panic mode when a few days later, I was informed that Al’s discharge date to our home would be on 2/11 and that he would require 24 hour supervision for safety, home health and a nurses aide. My mind worked overtime trying to get answers and accommodate our home while planning to keep Al safe. It was much easier to spend whole days at Al’s bedside. Our time together was just as sweet and tender as could be.
THEN, during the second week of rehab, Al started to wake up! He had more periods of lucid wakefulness. His eyes were open and he could hold his head up. Many of his positive, adorable attributes started to emerge, including wanting to wear the “executive director” hat when working with a young speech pathologist. He has such a strong intellect! Al is learning to motor plan for getting from in/out of a chair/bed and using a walker 300 ft with 2 rest breaks and physical assistance. His appetite is getting better and he can feed himself, brush his teeth and use an electric razor, with supervision to stay on task.
I’m being truthful to all of you so that there are no misunderstandings or hopeful inflations of what Al can and cannot do at this time. Al is making progress every day and it may take a year or more. Currently, Al has a limited understanding of his struggles and concrete orientation to time and place continues to be a challenge. He is trying to fill in the blanks of his memory files and it is our responsibility to ensure that he files the correct information. I discovered that this is why watching tv is not helpful!
Discharge planning is underway and all home equipment will be ordered. ***, ***, ***** and I did a complete Do it yourself makeover of Al’s ground floor home office. This room is accessible and a place where we will be living for however long it takes. We are lucky that we planned this addition with a ramp and French doors. In addition, there is an attached efficiency kitchen and full bathroom.
I help the nurses and therapists with Al’s care. I am lucky that patient care and rehab are the foundation of my OT career. This part does not intimidate me at all. While Al is at home, we will set up a daily schedule with music, current events for time and place, self help, seated cooking, games with grandkids, etc. Home will be a good place for continued recovery.
Before we left on our trip, we were in the process of joining ALL of our accounts and passwords. We ran out of time and did not complete this task, which was a big and costly mistake. Now that Al is not able to manage those accounts, I’m am locked out and and I had to obtain legal representation. My advice to friends and family, handle your affairs. Wrap it up in a bow for your trusted partner, family member or friend.
Thank you for all of the continued notes of love and concern. Al’s group of Brother/friends and wives/partners are a lifeline. I plan to lean on them once they get their covid shots. For all others offering help, that time will come when I may ask you.
Bye for now,”

Filed Under: I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC, Uncategorized Tagged With: Excuses For Not Buying LTCi, home health care, Information About LTC

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From My Blog

Tony Bennett is Not in San Francisco

Tony Bennet's story has now gone public. It is uncannily similar to Glen Campbell's. Each was … [Read More...]

Same Old Story

Just a few months ago Al was enjoying his wife, family and traveling. An acute health event occurred … [Read More...]

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Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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