Sunday, September 21, 2008

World Alzheimer's Day - September 21

Today is World Alzheimer's Day. This day has special meaning to me since my Dad died from complications surrounding Alzheimer's. It also has special meaning because there are so many others in the knitting community who have/had family members with this disease. Please remember to support research for finding a cure. There are many ways to contribute either nationally or locally.

Our office always dresses up on Halloween. I always dress for a cause rather than in Halloween character. This year I will dress for a cause and it will be to support Alzheimer's research. Please check out The National Alzheimer's Organization for ways to support.

You can support in other ways as well. Please check out Through the Loops. She has a wonderful vest pattern available for a contribution to Alzheimer's research.

Please take a moment to look at Theresa's blog and how she dealt with this terrible disease caring for her Grandmother. Her way of dealing with this disease will touch your heart!

The statistics are staggering as to the number of people with this dreadful disease. Currently, there are more than 26 million people across the world living with Alzheimer’s and that number will quadruple by 2050. Every 71 seconds someone develops Alzheimer's. I recently watched programming on PBS regarding the disease and it was so close to home for me. The research is ongoing and the number of people developing the disease grows each and every day.

The Devastation of Alzheimer's:

The devastation of Alzheimer's is to see someone who was so adept at math forget how to measure, but can read every word of this post.

To know that that person can no longer discern colors, but can read every word of this post.

To know that that person does not know what day, hour, month or year it is, but can read every word of this post.

To know that that person can not tell you where he lives or his address, but can read every word of this post.

To know that that person can tell you things that happened 30, 40, 50 or 60 years ago, but can not remember five minutes ago and can read every word of this post.

To know that that person can not remember eating five minutes ago, but can read every word of this post.

To know that that person can not remember certain names of his family members, but can read every word of this post.

To know I can not reverse the damage already done by Alzheimer's, but that maybe just maybe somewhere in the future there may be a cure in sight and I can help in some small way. Maybe not for my Dad, but for the Dad of someone else.

1 comment:

Theresa said...

Thanks for the post and links. I posted too.