Marcelino Benito announced he will be taking a month and a half leave from his KHOU 11 Houston weekend anchor/reporting duties after the death of his mother from Alzheimer's disease.
UPDATE JULY 2023
Marcelino Benito returns to KHOU 11
Earlier today, I posted about a minor victory in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, but as Benito reminds us, we are then brought face to face with the horror it leaves in its wake.
Here is a portion of what Benito said in his touching video embedded below:
"Losing my mom has really shaken me. She was a very, very important person in my life. I wouldn't be in this position that I am now without her and her lessons and the type of mom she was. So losing her and losing her so suddenly has really shaken me. And I'm not okay right now. And that's difficult for me to say out loud, but it's the truth. And you can only get better if you acknowledge that there's a problem.
And right now, I need time away from work. I need time away from the stress and demands that this job brings. And I need time to focus on myself and on my family and on my pain, on focusing on my grief. You have to confront it as many of you have told me in your messages, you can't put it off. You have to feel the pain and hope to get to the other side. And so that's what I'm going to do.
I feel like I haven't been giving 110% like I strive to do every day here at the station. Um, I'm not giving 110% to my wife and my child. My daughter. And they deserve 150% from me every day. So I will be taking time to focus on myself and to focus on them and hope to return stronger.
I'm making this decision with the full support of my bosses here at KHOU, who have been extremely supportive and had my back from the moment my mom became ill and continue to have my back today."
- KHOU 11 names new weekend anchors
- Marcelino Benito of KGUN Tucson joins KHOU 11
