The Walk to End Alzheimer’s in September and October is the largest non-profit fundraising event in the U.S. This month, Answers for Elders supports the Walks and fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association. One out of nine Americans over 65 has Alzheimer’s. As Alzheimer’s touches families deeply, we’ll cover everything from the Walks themselves to clinical research advancements. Today, Suzanne Newman introduces listeners to Dr. Kay Lehmann, Board Chair of the Alzheimer’s Association in the state of Washington, which kicks off the Walks.
Kay says, “My dad was the one that had Alzheimer’s. But as I tell people all the time, I really lost both my parents to Alzheimer’s. My mom was my dad’s caregiver, and she wore herself out, until one day her health just took her away from us. We then lost the rock that our whole family relied on. Then we realized dad’s Alzheimer’s was so much worse than we knew. And they hide it, the caregivers hide it. The people with Alzheimer’s can rally when there’s somebody around. This is still, for the time being, a fatal disease. And it took my dad away from us too. Since my dad passed in 2014, I have been devoted to ending Alzheimer’s before I leave this planet. So I deputize everyone I meet, get them involved, because I’m not gonna live forever. We’ve gotta get this cured.”
What does your donation support? Kay says, “People should know that we are volunteer led and staff supported. So we try to keep the costs down for the administrative costs. That means we always need more volunteers to get a lot of the work done. So the money goes to a couple of places. We are the largest private funder of research into Alzheimer’s and all other dementias in the world behind two countries, the countries of the U.S. and China. We are the third largest funder, but the first in private donations. We are funding research, we are funding care and support programs. We do community outreach. We provide support to the families and the loved ones of the people with Alzheimer’s, as well as with Alzheimer’s and dementia themselves. But it’s the research that has really been starting to pay off in big ways.”
Visit alz.org/walk and enter your zip code to find the Walk nearest you to register or donate. Check out alz.org to learn more. Reach master level clinicians at their 24/7 help line at 800-272-3900.
Hear more podcasts about the Walks: https://answersforelders.com/tag/alzheimers-walks/
* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/
