The Acadiana Advocate 12-25-2025

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THE

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T h u r s d ay, d e c e m b e r 25, 2025

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‘It’s just a matter of time’ New Alzheimer’s drugs offer patients hope

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

Staring at her golf gear in her garage in Destrehan three years ago, Diane Roussel couldn’t understand why she couldn’t find a pair of gloves. She rifled through her golf bag. There were no right-hand gloves. How could she have a dozen left-hand gloves and not a single pair? Her husband found her there, searching. “You never had pairs,” he told her, gently. “Golfers wear one glove.” Of course, Roussel knew that. She had been a golfer for decades. Later that year, her whole extended family celebrated Christmas and her birthday. It was the biggest gathering they’d had as a family to celebrate, “just an amazing day,” Roussel said. Three days later, a friend texted. “How was your Christmas?” Roussel couldn’t remember. There “was just a hole” where the memory should have been.

ä See DRUGS, page 3A

Hunter Henry, 20, of youngsville, points at his product on a store shelf at a local grocery.

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For everything, a

SEASON 20-year-old turns four years in a hospital into a business idea — a product line for those with medical issues BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

Hunter Henry was born with only half a heart, but he certainly has no shortage of taste buds. Now, he’s putting them to good use with a new business venture that serves as the first step in fulfilling a lifelong ambition. The 20-year-old Youngsville resident has a medical history that is long and storied, as he and his parents will tell you. “He was in the hospital for four years,” said his father,

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Robert. “He was degrading fairly steadily during that time as far as his health was concerned. Eventually he was placed on high priority for a heart transplant.” During the first two years of his life, Henry had three openheart surgeries, and would continue to struggle with heartrelated issues into his teens, culminating in a four-year stint in a Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston while he waited to receive a heart transplant.

ä See SEASON, page 4A

I had to try a lot of different combinations to get it right. It took a lot of trial and error. When you’re in heart failure, that makes it 10 times more difficult.” HUNTER HENRy

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

After seeking care for escalating memory lapses, Diane Roussel received a devastating Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Stakes huge for La. in coastal erosion case BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — Once again, the U.S. Supreme Court is wading into a Louisiana legal fracas that could have far-reaching implications for the rest of the nation. Already on their plate this term, the nine justices are sorting whether Louisiana’s voting map for the U.S. House is constitutional and whether the state’s prison system is liable for violating the religious freedom of a prison inmate. Now, come Jan. 12, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on a case that could have major implications on multimilliondollar lawsuits involving the oil and gas industry and coastal erosion.

Classified .....................6A Living............................5C Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A

ä See COASTAL, page 4A

101ST yEAR, NO. 178


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