mind-bogglingly stupid. i'll be back at the top of the hour with more top stories and a closer look at the sometimes tenuous link between politics and religion. first, "sanjay gupta m.d." starts right now. hello and thanks for being with us. lots to get to. this woman here, tiffany. she agreed to be a surrogate mother for her sister-in-law, natalie. we're calling it the new modern family. well, now it's time for the six-month checkup. i can tell you, things are starting to get strained. also, texting behind the wheel. we talk about this a lot. in terms of safety, it's no different than driving with your eyes closed for five seconds. we'll tell you important views on how to break that habit. first, football under the microscope. as you likely know, the nfl season kicked off this week, and while i love football, i couldn't help but cringe when i see these big helmet-to-helmet collisions during games. there's mounting evidence about

the long-term impact of those hits. we talk about this quite a bit on the show. just this week, a new study found that nfl players may have triple the risk of death due to brain diseases like alzheimer's and als. in recent years, more than 3,000 former players have filed lawsuits against the nfl. and they say that for years, the league tried to play down or even cover up the long-term dangers. the change seems to happen overnight. >> didn't recognize where he was and didn't recognize who people were. >> one day, your spouse seems fine. the next day, a despairing, broken version of the same man. >> he was threatening. he was putting up his fist, pushing people away. these are photos -- >> at first, eleanor could barely believe the change in her husband. former nfl guard ralph wenzel. until she realized all the clues she had missed over the years. >> you start to see more of a

blank expression, kind of starting to happen the. >> blank stares, vanishing memories. the anger brewing. all signs of dementia. and doctors told her most likely linked to the pummelling he had taken on the football field. >> this is a chronic, long-term terminal illness that has changed our lives forever. >> he's one of more than 3,000 former players and family members who have filed lawsuits against the nfl. they claim the league knew repeated blows to the head could cause long-term damage. and fraudulently concealed it. >> the snap and arching spiral down the far side -- >> this lawsuit is about who knew what and when they knew it. you see, the history here is important. right around the time the first nfl games were played in the 1920s, a disease, dementia pugilistica, was uncovered in the brains of boxers.

the premise was simple -- repeated blows to the head caused abnormalities, tangles to form in brain tissue. even back then, researcher pondered could the same thing be happening in the brains of football players. turns out an avalanche of recent studies showed similarities. the question is, how does it happen? >> all brains of either former athletes, former military veterans -- >> i asked dr. anne mckey, a specialist who studies the brains of athletes. what we're seeing here, is this definitely caused by blows to the head? >> it's never been seen in any reported case except in a case of repeated blows to the head. >> it begins when the brain is jostled inside the skull. neurons are stretched, connections damaged. and what follows is a furious effort by the brain to repair. in the short term, the damage may be contained. but over the long term, tangles are left behind.

it's called cte or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. the sentinel case, mike webster, former pittsburgh steeler who committed side. in 2005, a little-known pathologist, dr. bennett amalou, along with others, published a paper in the journal "neurology." that paper was about webster's brain which was riddled with tangles. now a committee of doctors assembled by the nfl asked the journal to pull that paper. the journal refused. dr. julian bales works with dr. amalou. they asked for the paper to be retracted because they didn't belief it, didn't think it was significant. what but think of that? >> i think that the scientific discourse demands that everything be brought out and let people judge for themselves, not hide it or retract it. but that was very early on. that was shocking, and they probably didn't want to believe it. >> five years earlier, in 2000,

the league's pension plan had written a letter to webster's estate saying multiple head injuries caused total and permanent disability that arose out of league football activities. asked about the letter, an nfl spokesperson declined to comment. >> him looking so healthy and young -- >> eleanor believes that her husband, like webster, suffered with cte. dementia which led to his death in june, looked eerily similar to that was other players who also died and were diagnosed with cte. prophetto says she hopes the lawsuit will force the nfl to wake up and pay attention. >> they were very slow in recognizing that this was a player. there were a lot of players suffering out there. >> in recent years the nfl has made rule change to protect players. a spokesperson maintains, "any allegation that the league sought to mislead players has no merit and stands in contrast to actions it took to better protect players."

prophetto's hope, that wenzel's painful struggle will in the end mean something. >> the last 15 years of his life that were so difficult for him had a reason. he made a difference. >> just last week, the nfl did file a motion to dismiss those cases. on the heels of that, the nfl is still researching this issue. in fact, just days ago, they announced they're donating $30 million to a new sports and health research program run by the national institutes of health. something else people have been asking me about, bill clinton. specifically here he is giving his speech at the democratic convention. some people noticed a little tremble in his hands. there it is there. some people asked, is that a sign of some sort of medical condition, and i've asked him about this a few times in the past. he's told me he does not have parkinson's, that quiver is just a sign of normal aging or sometimes too much caffeine. next up, the ultimate gift.

being a surrogate mom. a tough thing to go through. it gets even more complicated when you're having your sister-in-law's baby. >> i didn't know that it would put a strain on the marriage or kids or that i would be sick for so long. i'm also a survivor of ovarian a writand uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer,

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for the past few months, we've been following the makings of what we're calling a modern family. we have natalie on the right and her husband james, on the right, tiffany and her husband sean. natalie can't carry another child, but she wanted one so tiffany offered to help. now, tiffany is six months along and carrying twins for her brother and sister-in-law. as you might guess and as we expectedurrogacy is tough and this modern family is starting to get strained especially for tiany who i'm about to talk

with. first a look back. >> today is august 29th and we are here for a six-month checkup. we're 24 weeks along already with the twins. so we get to do the ultra sound today. the baby a is here and baby b up here. you can distinctly feel when they're kicking and you can feel them from the outside now, too. so baby b usually wakes and kicks baby a until baby a wakes up and they do their dance inside and kick and move. probably they'll wake up during the ultra sound. james and natalie have -- >> it's hard. it's hard not to feel grateful. it's a little tough sometimes. i mean, can't always be there for everything. but there are many more blessings that we have ahead of us and, you know, the hard times are -- everything is counting for something. >> tiffany, thanks so much for joining us. i have to ask how you're feeling. the last time we spoke you were having quite a bit of nausea now and i think you're around 23 weeks of pregnancy. how are you doing?

>> still kind of the same. i get more relief in the afternoon but i'm still puking every day and still nauseous every day. >> is it surprising to you how hard it's been? i know that we talked a lot before even, you know, you started this whole process. has it been surprising how taxing it's been on you and sean in particular? >> yes. absoluly. i thought going into this that the hardest part would be the birth and giving up the babies. you know, oh, maybe i'll feel sad after and that would be -- that is kind of what you think of when you think of a surrogate. how are they going to carry a baby to term and give the baby away? so i didn't really consider that oh, maybe i'll be much sicker than i've ever been before and i kept thinking if i were it wouldn't be that hard. i can handle it. >> right. and as far as, there are a lot of sacrifices then as a result of just not feeling well. you're a professional

photographer, for example, for weddings. are you able to work during this whole process? >> i am. i'm kind of like a person who just doesn't stop going and push through the best i can. i throw up before photo shoots or after. and there's been three that i've had to postpone but other than that i've done 27 regular sessions and seven weddings since i've become pregnant. >> wow. so you are trying to stay busy. what about your own children or just even child care? i know you miss your kids. is it harder to just help with them and their lives? >> it is. i guess that strikes a nerve with me. i'm just really an involved mom and so it's been really hard having to not be with them and not play with them and being sick and having to decide, well, if i have any energy it has to go to work and, you know, because we need the income, so it's been definitely challenging.

the kids are -- we have two beautiful, great kids. they're 7 and 3. they're doing wonderful. but i still feel this guilt of i'm not with them as much. i'm not playing with them. it's summer. i want to swim at the lake with them. that's definitely been probably the hardest part so far. >> when you reflect on it you think about the fact that you started this whole endeavor, what has surprised you the most? has anything given you pause and said maybe i didn't quite think this through at all? >> yes. i think that, you know, i would be lying to say oh, no. this is just what i thought it would be. and everything is peaches and cream. i think that there are definitely parts i didn't know it would have strain on marriage or the kids or that i would be sick for so long. you know, but it still -- i get asked a lot, would i do this again? i would. i'm not going to do this again

for anybody else but would i repeat this knowing now how sick i am and how much i'm missing out and how much the kids are missing their mom? yes. because these babies here would never exist if it weren't for this tough decision. >> so many considerations. as you point out, things that were even impossible to think about or anticipate. but let me say you look really beautifu tiffany. i know it's been tough so far and i think about you a lot and i can't wait to see these babies. >> thank you. >> we'll hope to check in with you again soon. >> thank you so much. and next, how to break one of the toughest habits there is -- texting behind the wheel. i think everyone knows this is a bad idea but it seems like no one is willing to put that phone down. we take a closer look with some solutions, next. e that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last.

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it's funny, the first thing i noticed about her was her shoes. lying in the roadway in a large pool of bloody noticed her shoes and i thought, this is a young girl. that's the first thing i thought when i saw this. and at that point is when i noticed her cap and gown was still in her car. she was going to graduate the next day. it was just a really horrific scene all because of a senseless text message. >> mariah west is an 18-year-old who died in that car accident just one day before her high school graduation. she is one of thousands of people of all ages who die because of distracted driving. mariah's mother mary is here with me now. thanks for joining us. you flew in to talk about this. i know this has become something that you're very passionate about. >> yes. >> tell me a bit about your daughter. >> she was a very bubbly young lady, very vivacious.

never met a stranger. wanted to go to school at georgia tech and be a teacher. she wanted to make a difference in people's lives. >> we're talking about one day, la and want to go to school at georgia tech and be a teacher and make a difference in people's lives. >> and we are talking about what one day, and this happened one day before the high school graduation. >> yes. >> and you found her cap and gown in the car even. >> right. >> i want to take a look at the textt that we are talking about here and she was responding to a text when she veered into traffic and there it is "where ru at?" >> yes. >> and so one letter was saved in the draft. >> so they went back and looked

at it? >> y, it all matched together. had you thought about this issue prior to this? >> absolutely. absolutely. we knew she had a problem and we would do everything that we could and she would joke about the stupid kids at school who had gotten into the fender benders, but suddenly, she was a pro and she thought that she could handle it. >> we saw the accident and saw what happened to the car. so what happened here? brain injuries orrer what happened? >> well, yes, in the course of the car rolling, she was partially ejected and the car came between her and the pavement and in the brace space and severed the optic nerve. >> people know that you cannot text and drive and the messages are out there for some time and one stat that is interesting and you heard this but someone who is driving and texting is the equivalent of driving with your eyes closed with five seconds and if somebody told you to drive for five seconds without looking, i would say that is

crazy. but based on everything that you are learning about and knowing, why does it happen so much. >> well, people think they are invisible and they don't accept that bad things happen to bad people, and that is the mentality and it won't happen at me. i'm so well versed at this that i can handle it. and what they don't understand is that it can take one time to make a miste and that can be the end of their life. >> and yes, you know people have even pledgedt in to text and drive and yet the numbers are quite high. have you found anything that works especially among teenagers? >> well, when you show them a drama, they go, wow, that is impactful for the day. if you show them a real story, that is impactful for the week, but when they meet the victims, that seems to have the greatest impact. and talk with the people who have dealt with it personally that is taken out of the realm of make believe or just another

tv show. >> how does, and is there a way to create a conservation, because what you'd like and i imagine think of my own kids and anybody watching and their kids as well, you'd like the say someone is in the car would say, stop, put it down. this is a bad idea, and it could kill us. how do you think that those conservations actually start? >> they start around the dinner table. you know, you just have to keep talking to them, but do it in a way that is not now don't do th this, but let them see that danger for themselves. >> i have solutions about you and taken the phone and taking it to put it in glove box or even in the trunk of your car and while you drive you simply don't get in the phone. it is going to be a very effective, but many people simply won't do that. >> right. >> and do you feel that you have been able to have an impact? >> i think absolutely.

the awareness is growing and shame to have so many losses. i am hearing accidents all of the time from where we are, there was another one this week, a young man who killed his brother, because he was texting and driving. >> there is a different technologies emerging and some of them will hopefully come about in time to save more lives that they can actually measure just how fast the car is going and try to disable the phone as part of that, but again, i really appreciate your sharing the stor y about mariah, becaus it is so important for people to hear this and if they meet her as they are now, that will make a difference. thank you, merry. appreciate your coming in. >> my pleasure. >> we should take the pledge to not text and drive. take the pledge on it can

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you know, if you vo been watching the u.s. open in the past few weeks, you may have noticed a familiar face on the court. denise is one of our cnn fit nation triathletes and she has been getting a workout as it turns out as a ball girl at the u.s. open, and she is the first amputee to work as a ball court on center court, and nothing slows that woman down. and speaking of triathlon and i and denise and the rest of the cnn fit nation team are going to

be competing next weekend, and i think that we are all ready. joining us live from california before the race, we will be right here on cnn. you know, "chasing life" today is about giving yourself a digital detox. a couple of questions. do you spend a lot of time using the mobile phone and constantly check for calls and texts and e-mails? if there is, there is a chance of phantom vibration syndrome, and stick with me, because this is real. when you think that the phone is vibrating with a new alert when it isn't, that is what you are expecting. one study says this happens to 70% of those who use mobile phones and a sign that you are too plugged in. before you shrug it off, there is a good chance that those devices are making it harder to sleep at night as well. they keep the brain stimulated even as the body is trying to shutdown. here is the