All year I've been wanting to do some type of walk that supports a cause. It gives me motivation to get off my ass and exercise...even if it is just walking...and, of course, it's nice to be doing something for "a cause" too.
I just happened to see a flier for this walk when I was out in Petaluma, but this is also something that hits close to home for me. Not too long ago a family member of mine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and from what I understand it's already rearing it's ugly head. Though, I'm not in Alaska right now I've seen the devastating effects it can have up close. When I was in college I worked at Providence Extended Care Center for a year. A good chunk of my time there was spent in "the dementia unit". It's been probably 6 or 7 years since I worked there but I still remember some of those residents very well. When you heard some backgrounds of the residents who were in there it was unbelievable. These people who couldn't remember their own names were at one point a police officer, or a WWII veteran, or a man with a PhD in addition to speaking four different languages....and was only in his 50s!
It's terrifying, heartbreaking, and downright insulting that the human brain can turn on itself like that. Yet, we know so little about it. Taken from The Alzheimer's Association website: "Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the country and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. Based on mortality data from 2000-2008, death rates have declined for most major diseases while deaths from Alzheimer’s disease have risen 66 percent during the same period." More eye-opening facts can be found here.
There's a somewhat new term called "slacktivisim". According to urban dictionary it means: The act of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort to fix a problem. Facebook is full of this...post this as your status for an hour...post your bra color (as someone who works in oncology, don't get me started on how stupid that is...sorry to everyone likes to do it)...like this if you agree...change your profile picture. In the end what does any of that crap accomplish? NOTHING. I am begging people to ACTUALLY HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE. $6, $10, or $15 is all it takes to help us rally in the fight against Alzheimer's. If you can donate more, great! To switch up a favorite Scrubs quote I like to use: Let's make Alzheimer's feel foolish!
If above doesn't work: http://walktoendalz.kintera.org/petaluma11/mariahreddick
And THANK YOU to the rockstars who have already helped.
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