Veteran ABC 7 anchor Bill Ritter is opening up in regards to the frightening first symptoms that led to his early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and the emotional reality of stepping away from the anchor desk after greater than twenty years. Just days after announcing his retirement from WABC-TV, Bill Ritter revealed he initially dismissed troubling memory changes before ultimately realizing something more serious was happening.
Appearing on “Good Morning America” on Monday, Ritter shared that he first noticed symptoms nearly two years ago. “I realize I used to be forgetting people’s names and places,” Ritter recalled. “Didn’t know why this was happening.”
The longtime journalist said his wife, Kathleen, noticed changes as well, though he initially believed his demanding work schedule was likely accountable. In an effort to scale back stress and improve his sleep, Ritter began scaling back his responsibilities at ABC 7, first stepping away from the station’s 11 p.m. broadcast and later exiting the 5 p.m. newscast so he could focus solely on anchoring the 6 p.m. show.
“I used to be sleeping for the primary time at night; for the primary time in 25 years,” Ritter explained. “Finally getting a good night sleep and it wasn’t convalescing.”
That’s when Ritter decided it was time to hunt answers. “We said, ‘I gotta get tested,’ ” he recalled. “And that basically was a crucial thing. A whole lot of people say, ‘I’m advantageous, don’t worry about it, I’m going to be advantageous.’ No. You gotta go do that.”
Ritter Says He Was ‘Scared’ After Diagnosis
Ritter admitted his diagnosis immediately brought thoughts of his father, who died with Alzheimer’s disease in 1998. “My first response was, I thought of my dad,” Ritter said. “That was immediate. He just popped into my head.”
“After which a few seconds later, I used to be scared,” he continued. “I don’t mind saying that. It was scary. Since it was like, ‘Wait a minute, I’m imagined to be doing this. What’s happening here?’ ”
The Emmy-winning broadcaster said his focus quickly shifted to his family and the way the disease would affect them moving forward. “I quickly moved into husband/dad place,” Ritter said. “Because Alzheimer’s really affects the family most. As a dad and a husband, I said, ‘I gotta cope with this. That is my family. And that’s what I’m really anxious about.’ ”
“They’re the actual tough ones on this,” he added. “My kids say, ‘Dad, you’re so brave in all this.’ And I’m not the one who’s brave. It’s my kids and my wife who’re the brave ones. That’s really the actual case here.”
Bill Ritter Says Honesty Led To His Retirement Announcement
Ritter first revealed his diagnosis during Friday’s Eyewitness News at 6, announcing it might be his final night anchoring this system. “After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I even have Alzheimer’s,” Ritter told viewers. “It’s ‘early stage’ Alzheimer’s, and so they say the treatments I’m getting are keeping it at bay. For now. But there isn’t a guarantee, because there’s no cure yet for Alzheimer’s. So, unless someone finds a tremendous cure, and shortly, tonight will likely be the last newscast I anchor.”
The longtime ABC 7 personality became emotional while explaining why he selected to be transparent with viewers. “My job as a journalist is to talk truthfully to the general public,” Ritter said. “Truth and facts is what we cope with. I figured I owed it to the viewers to be honest about this.”
Ritter Isn’t Leaving Journalism Behind
Although Ritter is stepping away from the anchor desk, he made clear he has no plans to retire completely. As an alternative, the veteran broadcaster will remain with ABC 7 in a brand new role focused on covering Alzheimer’s disease and other related illnesses, including the financial and emotional toll they tackle families.
“I believe we’ve a chance,” Ritter said while reflecting on the overwhelming response he received after sharing his diagnosis publicly. “There was such an outpouring this weekend of affection and support. This disease, obviously, doesn’t care what your politics are because we’re all on this together.”
Bill Ritter Plans To Raise Alzheimer’s Awareness In Latest Role
Looking ahead, Ritter said he hopes to proceed using journalism to bring awareness to the disease while helping others feel less alone.
“After this interview, I’m going to go to our Monday morning meeting at 9 a.m. … after which I’m going to go to my desk and have day one in all the brand new job,” Ritter said. “And that will likely be to bring people into the tent, because I believe that’s what we would like.”