Alzheimer’s Memory Walk

8/10/2007

You know there are some diseases that people just commonly associated with old people. Alzheimer’s is usually it. In its advanced stage it comes with gaps in memory to most notably not knowing who your family is, unable to recall details such as home phone, address, etc., becoming confused about time/day, having trouble with day to day life such as dressing, eating, using the facilities and sometimes not even knowing their own name. My grandmother has Alzheimer’s and more times than not she has no clue who my mother is when she calls because she is in a residential home up north. I cannot even imagine not knowing who I am or who the people around me that I see on a day to day basis are.

The Alzheimer’s Association has a Memory Walk every year to help raise awareness and funds for more research, support and general care for this disease as it affects more than 5 million Americans right now and with my family history of Alzheimer’s there is a good chance it could trickle down the line. The walks are normally 2-3 miles and in more than 600 communities held on a weekend in the fall. You can become a Team Captain or join one of your local teams that have already been formed in your community to show your support for a worthy cause that could affect you or me. If you are not able to do the walk for whatever reason, you can help behind the scenes as a volunteer as they are always in need of those.