It’s not something most of us care to think about, but at some point in our lives, most of us will eventually experience the effects of Alzheimer’s. Though more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, relatively few understand just how severe the disease can be.
Progression of the disease strongly varies from case to case, but can develop to a point where the individual cannot perform such simple tasks as brushing his or her own teeth, or using the restroom alone.
At this point, my grandfather has never been officially diagnosed, but for quite some time now he’s shown symptoms characteristic of not only stage 2, but as severe as stage 6. There’s a lot I haven’t witnessed on my own, but I’ve had conversations with my grandmother about the more serious aspects. He goes to bed quite early these days, and it’s not uncommon for him to accuse her of being unfaithful to him, simply because she’s not going to bed immediately when he does. He’ll lie awake, and even though he can hear her in the living room on the phone, or doing dishes, etc, once she goes to lie down he becomes very hateful and lets wild accusations fly.
While there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s, but there are drug-related, and non-drug-related treatments that can help with cognitive and behavioral symptoms, to make living with Alzheimer’s easier. Best of all, we’ve learned most of what we know about Alzheimer’s in just the last 15 years, so there’s still an ongoing effort, worldwide, to to find even better ways to treat it, delay it, or even prevent it altogether. That’s where we come in!
These walks are held annually,in hundreds of communities across the nation, at various times throughout the year. There are 21 scheduled walks within the state of Georgia alone. I’m happy to say the one for Valdosta is scheduled for October, so there’s still plenty of time for me to work out all the details for that. Sign up, and sign up early!
The best help you can offer is awareness, and these walks bring much needed awareness, and much needed funding to the cause as well.
August 11th, 2007 at 2:35 am
do you get extra moneys if i actually sign up? you should. there is one at my school i see? i will have to look more into it because i would want to do it! i have had a lot of experience with it since my grandfather who just recently passed had it for over 10 years. i have heard that another warning sign is if the person has trouble smelling strong smells like cinnamon or fish. are you gonna do that walk or whatever? you should :p i will do it with you! just uhhh 1000 miles away :p
August 12th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Nah, I don’t get anything for you signing up. I’m gonna do a little research this week on the walk here in town ’cause I’ve never heard anything about it and I’d hate to sign up here if it was a really watered down attempt (which happens sometimes when small towns get involved in national things). If it doesn’t feel right, I’m gonna see about signing up somewhere nearby.