MEMORIES MATTER! Running for Dad and so many others...

Memories Matter. They make you who you are. They represent your life: your loves, your losses, your accomplishments, your joys, your sorrows, your relationships. How can you think of yourself outside this context? If your mind were wiped clean like an erased slate, who would you be? With no knowledge of who you love, no knowledge of what you know, no knowledge of where you come from, where you are, or where you're going... who are you? Would you even know? And if you didn't, how would that make you feel? Isolated? Afraid? Confused? Lost? Probably all of these. Can you even begin to imagine what it's like to forget not just those around you, but to forget your very self?

Well, this is how those with dementia feel all the time. These beautiful souls with all of their personalities, experieces, loves and opinions are lost not just to those around them, but they are lost to themselves.

Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death currently; these numbers are probably low, however, because so many deaths from Alzheimer's are not recorded as such because there is no autopsy. It is the only cause of death in the top ten causes for which there is no cure, no prevention, and very little treatment. The only cause in the top ten where the number of those affected is GROWING - rapidly- not shrinking, despite medical advances in so many other areas. It is 100% fatal.

Here it is: My grandmother died from Alzheimer's. My father died from Alzheimer's. I do not want to die from Alzheimer's. I do not want my girls to die from Alzheimer's. In fact, I work for a day when nobody will ever again die from Alzheimer's.

On March 8th I will run the Big5K as part of the LA Marathon, and I am running it as a "Memory Walk" for the Alzheimer's Association California Southland chapter. This run starts and ends at Dodger Stadium. This wonderful, and grossly underfunded charity, desperately needs financial support to provide services for affected patients and their families, to raise awareness through education, and to fund research into cures and preventions.

You can make a difference by going to my page and supporting me in the run. Every dollar of your donation is much needed and well used. If you are unable to donate, then lend support by sharing the message and raising awareness. With statistics as they are, in 20 years we will all know someone touched by this disease if we do not change course. 

Awareness starts with just one story. I have one; you may too. If so, I'd like to hear it. If not, I'd encourage you to read mine, and to take action to fight the fight for those who can't.

Thanks!

Gina 
Support Me in my Run: https://act.alz.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=tr_generaleventpc2_container&pc2_page=center&fr_id=4640

Buy My Book: Donald's Story: One Family's Journey Through the Tangled Darkness of Alzheimer's  http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000467538/DONALDS-STORY.aspx