Walk to End Alzheimer's

"Living in the Moment of Alzheimer’s"

Did you know that there are 27,000 people in the state of Hawaii with Alzheimer’s disease?   Many of the 27,000 are cared for by family care givers. 

In April of this year I visited my mother’s friend, Mrs. Oda, who lives in Northern California.  About five years ago, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  A visit then were the early stage of the disease process, repetitive questions, a loving and caring husband who said she hide’s the car keys, asks the same questions, but he stood ready to be her caregiver.  The recent visit took me to a memory care unit in an assisted living facility.  The couple now reside in a studio, Mrs. Oda needs assistance with her activities of daily living, her husband has some relief as a care giver with the available staff, but yet their bond as a couple remains intact.  We went out to a restaurant for lunch, talking story about how my mother and her met during World War II in the Tule Lake Japanese internment camp and the continued friendship of 70 years plus only provides limited retrieval of her memory, yet as we ate dim sum, her repetitive comments about the good food we were eating provided more conversation about how she cooked for me as a college student in Northern California.  Living in the moment of Alzheimer’s can rob one’s memory, but the family, friends and fond memories when retrievable gives meaning and value to life. 

We need a cure and effective treatment for Alzheimer’s.  We need to honor those with Alzheimer’s.  We need to support the family members and friends who are caregivers.  Please join me in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s at Magic Island on September 2, 2017 at 7:00am (registration begins at 6:00am.  If you're not able to attend the walk, a donation can be made thru this site too).  Please go to this link:

http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2017/HI-Aloha?pg=entry&fr_id=10327

Mahalo!

Calvin