Memory Walk

I've pasted below an email I sent out yesterday. I think it speaks for itself.

Five years ago today, my father died from complications related to Alzheimer's disease. Before that day, it had been around 2-3 years since he'd recognized me. It was only a matter of time before my sisters and eventually our mother were also washed from his memory by this horrible, devastating disease.

Related to his Alzheimer's condition, Dad also had developed Parkinson syndrome, a disease scientists think may be fundamentally related to Alzheimer's as often people diagnosed with one will develop signs of the other. I cannot begin to describe the emotions that rose in me as my father's health deteriorated, as his mind which he'd taken such pride in and his body began to fail him. However, I can say that his death at the age of 71 was actually a relief, both for him and for the rest of the family. We knew he would not get better, and watching him literally lose his mind was torture every day.

So, I write to you today, not for sympathy but to ask that you join me at 1 p.m. Oct. 5 at Stephens Lake Park in Columbia (Broadway and Old Hwy 63) for Memory Walk, a fundraising and attention raising event sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association. This organization provided information and support to my family as we grappled with Dad's illness, and now I'd like to give back. Please help me do so. Please follow the link listed in the message below and join my team, The Literate Ones (https://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=275436&team=3174799). Or create a team of your own and walk in honor or memory of someone you love.

One final thing to consider: since my grandmother died with Alzheimer's and my father died with Alzheimer's and unless I die in a car accident or some other unforseen cause, I have greater chances of dying with, if not from, Alzheimer's disease. So, if you won't walk for my dad, my grandmother, or someone else you know, would you please walk for me? The research that the Alzheimer's Association supports may be the very studies that will enable me not to develop the disease that took my father from me way too soon. Thanks for your support. I appreciate your friendship and understand if you are unable to attend the walk. Your thoughts on that day will also sustain those of us who are able to attend.

Rebecca