Forget Me Not

A few weeks ago we held a celebration for my grandmother's birthday. She always seems so happy at these get-togethers, and my other grandmother was invited as well. One thing I notice though is that there is always one certain person absent for every single family get-together, my cousin Steve.

Steve's reason for not attending has to do with him trying to distance himself from the family. It really all goes back to when he walked in a room to find my grandfather dead. Steve was quite young back then, so this was rather traumatic for him, not that it helped that my grandfather had been suffering from Alzheimer's for a little while making their relationship somewhat strained.

This is a long and roundabout way to get to the point of how such a disease can impact everyone around the person. My grandfather's lack of memory caused all the relatives to treat him differently, and disconnected Steve more from the family. At that time I was less than a year old, so I never knew my grandfather and frankly, I don't think I would want to know him in the last year of his life. It's better to think about a person at their best, not when they've lost recognition.

I don't think there is one person here who hasn't had an encounter with someone with Alzheimer's. It's a powerful disease that can tear couples apart, and leave children frustrated and sad. How would you feel if your own father didn't recognize you anymore? Or your wife?

I know there are probably several people out there who haven't been diagnosed with Alzheimer's yet, and I feel bad for their family. Families who might be ignorant, and just think that granny's gone off the deep end.

Rapidly, ignorance towards Alzheimer's is decreasing and funding for more research and cures is increasing. The Alzheimer's Association is doing their part in fighting for the cure for Alzheimer's in their own great way.

They're sponsoring a charity memory walk that will take place all across the country.




The walk is 2-3 miles long and it's well worth it. The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk website makes it easy to locate a walk that's happening right in your area. You can search by zip code, chapter, or state. Or, if you can't find a local walk, start your own chapter!

Right now what the Alzheimer's Association really needs are more team captains. If you can't participate in an actual walk, it's a fantastic way to still help out the cause. Once you find a local chapter, sign up online for a team captain position. The earlier you sign up, the more time you'll have to raise funds and gather a team together. After you register, you'll have access to your own web site where you can track your fundraising.

Getting a team together can be composed of everyone from relatives to co-workers to classmates. The larger your team, the more donations you'll be likely to receive.

This is all for a great cause and I really do respect groups that value researching such important causes. Alzheimer's is a little too common, it deteriorates relationships and causes great heartache. Nobody wants to wake up next to someone that doesn't recognize them and I'm sure you don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're completely lost.

This isn't something that affects a small group, it can happen to anyone. We all must face the fact that with age comes problems, but we don't have to accept Alzheimer's as one of them.