Together We Can Move a Nation
Next Week is PAN MASS, a bike-a-thon charity event hoping to raise funds for cancer research and treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. The PAN MASS starts from Sturbridge and ends in Provincetown. Another athletic fund raising event coming to Provincetown this September is the Swim For Life event at the Provincetown benefitting AIDS and Women’s Health.
There is one event, which is not happening in Provincetown (the nearest memory walk is in Plymouth) but is dear to me is the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk happening this fall. It is the nation’s largest event creating awareness and raising funds to fight Alzheimer’s Disease. I have blogged about this previously, with my maternal grandfather suffering from it and at the time, there is very little awareness about this condition.
I will admit that I was young and wasn’t really aware of what’s happening but it’s tough to see a loved one go in a long sad good bye. I shared the same birthday with him (which I think is quite special, how many times does it happen that you share the same birthday with a family member?) and he passed away just a couple of weeks after my eighteenth birthday.
Did you know that Alzheimer is the 6th leading cause of death in the US? Every 71 seconds, somebody is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Being a mom, this is a scary situation, what if it happens to me? What if it happens to you?
All of us are going to die, Dr. Paul Pausch (of the “Last Lecture” fame) says that the best way to beat the reaper is to live life to the fullest. Unfortunately, Alzheimer is like a thief in the night, it robs you of the ability to have a meaningful last few moments of your life. It reduces one to a demented state and then to a vegetative state but always, it starts with loss of memory.
We can all do something about it, join the cause and spread the word. This year some 200,000 people will be on the move to push this cause forward. Find a walk near you or organize one. Invite your family and friends and encourage them to invite their family and friends. Before you know it, everyone will be on the move to create awareness to this devastating disease.
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