For The Family Of Former Bay Area Football Star, The Toll Football Takes On The Brain Is Personal
The family of Rod Stensrud is part of a group lawsuit against the NCAA over the alleged link between football and degenerative neurological diseases. “Every time I see football it will remind me of my father,” said his son Reid Stensrud.
The Mercury News:
‘Something Is Wrong With My Brain’: Life After Football For One-Time Bay Area Star
The situation highlighted a long, soul-sapping mental decline that physicians diagnosed a year later as early onset Alzheimer’s, a disease the family attributes to the years Stensrud played high school and college football. On the eve of Monday night’s national championship at Levi’s Stadium, the Stensruds are one of four families suing the NCAA in wrongful death complaints that underscore the potentially high costs of the game. (Almond, 1/2)
In other public health news —
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Community Group Educates Poor Sonoma County Communities About Vital Oral Health Care
[Karissa Moreno’s] team is focused on a new effort to improve oral health care through dental health education in the lower-income neighborhoods in Sonoma County. During the first two years, Moreno expects to help over 2,000 people across the county through the Dental Wellbeing Collaborative. The program is being supported by a $100,000 donation from Dr. John Duffy, a retired Sonoma County periodontist who developed a technique for preventing gum disease while doing volunteer dental work with poor communities in the United States and Latin America. The dental collaborative plans to use a combined approach of community outreach and teaching people self-care skills to implement in households that may not have easy access to health care. (Bordas, 1/2)