President's Message- Alzheimer’s Walk

On September 19, a bunch of Biddeford Saco Rotarians and friends participated in the Alzheimer’s Walk in York Beach.  It was a beautiful day to support such a worthy cause.  I want to thank Roland Gagne, Sue Gajewski, Matt Simmonds, Jim McAllister and Doug Kay (he drove Lucie) for driving down.  An extra thank you to Roland for having a bank’s worth of change for the parking meters.  I believe there is more than a little Nascar in the blood of Roland and Sue.  Doug on the other hand was certainly the tortoise in the race (Lucie there is a minimum speed limit on the Pike).  I also want to thank Rob Moody, Matt and Tyler Simmonds, Sarah Neault, Roland, Laurie Jo Ready and her friend whose name escapes me, Sue Gajewski and her friend Mary, Jim and Donna McAllister, Peggy Bean and her daughter Allison, Doug and Lucie, and Karen Chasse for participating in the walk.  I do apologize if I left anyone out.  It is not intentional.

Really, Lucie deserves a special thanks for organizing the team.  I believe that Sarah and Laurie Jo were our top two fundraisers, kudos to them.  I should note that we really looked like a team in our orange t-shirts which in the Alzheimer’s world connotes support for the cause.  In fact, during the rally part of the event, A.J. Burnette, a former local meteorologist, recognized us as an awesome team because of the t-shirts.

The rally really reminded us why we were there.  One gentleman who got up with his wife to speak was 62 years old.  He has early onset Alzheimer’s.  We is an attorney and a long time college professor at St. Anselm’s who had to stop teaching and practicing and is now on disability.  He essentially knows that he will eventually die from the disease which is slowly stealing his life from him.  There was another man there, a 57 year old engineer, who also has early onset Alzheimer’s.  He is a year older than me, and he has a disease with no known cure that with rob him of his mind, his memories and eventually his life.

A person I met during the rally said to me that if this cause had nearly the same support as AIDS or cancer there is no doubt there would be a cure by now.  That struck a nerve for me.  For whatever reason, this disease which is the sixth leading cause of death in this country simply has not gotten the needed support, but it is clear that things are changing in that regard and as more people are afflicted with the disease (sad, but true fact of life), more and more education about Alzheimer’s is becoming available and finally more money is being raised to find a cure.

Our group in orange was just a small example of Rotary recognizing a need and doing something to address it.  Thanks again to all who donated and especially to all who walked.  The long stream of walkers snaking its way along York Beach was a great symbol of the support that is growing to find a cure for an illness that steals people’s spirits and then their lives.  Let’s hope people keep walking for a cure.