AZDana

Several years ago, my children and I were out for a family walk. We came upon a well dressed elderly man that also seemed to be out enjoying the nice Arizona weather. But after exchanging a few sentences with him, I realized that he was lost and had no idea of his surroundings. As a matter of fact, he didn’t know what city he was in, and said that he was trying to walk to the local harbor, even though we were in the metro Phoenix area at the time. Thankfully, the police were able to help him. It turned out that he lived with his daughter and her family. She was trying to care for him, although his Alzheimer’s disease was making it more difficult to care for him on a daily basis. She didn’t even know he had wandered away from home, she thought he was in their back yard, sitting on the porch.

Can you even begin to fathom what it must be like to live with Alzheimer’s, or care for someone with the disease? What would it be like to hear your doctor pronounce his diagnosis, knowing that your brain, your thoughts, your very essence will be stolen from you by this vicious illness? Can you imagine what it would be like to live with a loved one with Alzheimer’s, and the feelings of helplessness someone must go through as their loved one’s mental abilities fade away each day?

On the other hand, can you imagine how joyous the world will be when the cure for Alzheimer’s is discovered? Everyone will be celebrating and rejoicing when this vicious illness is defeated. I don’t know how soon the cure will be discovered, but I know that you and I can help make it happen. By joining in on the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk, you can be part of the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. You can help out by becoming either a Team Captain, Team Walker, or an Independent Walker.

The Memory Walk is a nationwide event, but I’d like to discuss what’s happening in my area to give everyone a better idea of the process. I clicked on the link for Memory Walk 2007 and saw several options, including “Sign up for a walk”, “start or join a team”, or “volunteer”. The Alzheimer’s Association web site is very easy to use, and it allows visitors several ways to get involved. I decided to choose “Find A Walk” and entered my zip code. I found that a local chapter has scheduled their walk for October at a central Phoenix location. Statewide, I found that there will be other walks in cities such as Tucson, Prescott, Cottonwood, and Sun City West.

If you can’t walk, then you can sponsor someone who can. You can also tell everyone you know about your local walk as well. Send everyone you know to look at the Alzheimer’s Association website so they can help spread the word too. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do something. If we all work together, then we can hope that soon, Alzheimer’s disease will become a thing of the past.