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Dearest Friends and Family, Muy queridos amigos y familia:

I am so excited to be dedicating my 40th Birthday next year to the fight to end Alzheimer's disease. I am honored and humbled to be joining this battle that has ravaged my family and so many countless others. I have seen both my parents dedicate their careers to this debilitating disease - my father through his research, my mother through her clinical work - and I have seen firsthand how painful it is to see loved ones with dementia.

For my milestone birthday in March 2025, I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on February 12, 2025. This adventure will be in honor of three very special women who are fundamental in who I am today, all three of whom battled Alzheimer's - both of my grandmothers and Laura's maternal grandmother. (Laura's paternal grandmother - Grandmama Evelyn Graber Z"L - was a true force and a beautiful presence and of our four grandmothers, she was the only one not afflicted by this awful disease.)

Let me share a bit below about these powerful women:

Gloria Meyohas de Masliah Z"L (1930-2019)

My Ma Glo was my dad's (Eliezer) mother. She was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México to immigrants who arrived to the then tiny Jewish community escaping antisemitism in their native Pre-State Israel and Turkey. Wow, was she a sweet ray of light everywhere she went. She was the perfect combination of sweet, salty and affectionate. Just what you would want in an abuela. Growing up and visiting her in Mexico City, she instilled in me a great love for being a sephardic Jew, through constantly using phrases in Ladino and Turkish, and stuffing me with borekas and teaching me to make the "perfect" Turkish coffee. She had the patience of a saint as raising my Dad and his two brothers and sister was not for the weak! Toward the end when Alzheimer's took over her brain and she would sit in her apartment in Polanco and stare into space with her once lively hazel eyes, I would hold her hand whenever I was there (I always wished for more time), and just tell her I loved her. If she only knew what I was planning, she would tell me I am out of my mind for doing this - but at any rate, this is for you, Ma Gloria.

Ruth Jacobowitz Z"L (1924 - 2004)

Laura's maternal grandmother was Bubbie Ruchel Lea and she was the definition of the word "survivor." I never had the chance to meet her, she passed away before I ever came into Laura's life. She was born in Sochaczew, Poland at the brink of the Holocaust. Her and her sister hid as Catholic farm girls during the war, all while maintaining their strong sense of Jewish identity and Yiddishkeit. Laura's mother, Esther Frodel (affectionally known to me as "The Frodz") tells me I would have loved her, and interestingly I think of her often, even though we never had the chance to meet; maybe it's through making her meatballs for my children, or speaking Yiddish whenever I can - but she is in my heart. She grew to raise two strong Jews (The Frodz and Uncle David), children of the Holocaust, who would go on to raise even more strong Jews. She also dedicated her life to Jewish education in Pittsburgh, where she made a home in the U.S. Because of Bubbie's strength, today we have more strong Jewish women. She was also a clean freak and I have her to thank for my Frodz's fascination with the powers of Windex and wiping counters. But I also owe her for Laura's and my children's strong sense of self. I would have hugged her if I could, and told her that I will keep her legacy alive. Even though Alzheimer's caught hold of her brain, it did not take her heart and strong loyalty, because she outlived Laura's Zayde Abram by only seven weeks, knowing she could rest once her partner had, too. I'm sure she too would tell me I am meshugane for climbing this mountain - but at any rate, this is for you, Bubbie.

Rosa (Rochi) Kobisher de Miller Z"L (1930-2022)

My mom's (Aida) mom, my Bobe Rochi, was a true beacon of positivity - she was able to smile through anything, and it was authentic. I wish I could have even just a fraction of her optimism. She was born in San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México (yes, the capital of the state is named the same as the state) to immigrants from the Russian Empire fleeing antisemitism and the czar. Eventually, she would go on to marry my Zeide José and raise three daughters and one son. I was so, so lucky that when I was in fifth grade, she and my Zeide José moved to San Diego from Mexico City, and I was truly able to grow up with them. I loved sitting at their table hearing stories of what it was like to be young Jews in México in the 30s and 40s, stories of speaking Yiddish in northern México and what their experience had been as immigrants, first to México and then to the U.S. My Bobe knew how to make me feel important to her, we would call each other and I would visit her whenever I was home from Israel or New York. By the time I was living in San Diego again, Alzheimer's had taken over - her sense of love and positivity was something she clung on to. She would look you deep into your eyes, piercing through your soul, and she would say "Te quiero mucho" with a gigantic smile. And that's exactly how I remember her and I'm so lucky my children got to hug her, too. Just like her other peers here, you can guess she would think I have lost my marbles, but at any rate, this is for you, Bobe.

If you have read this far ... I am raising $20,000 to fight this disease that took these women and 6 million others in the U.S., 300,000 in México and about 40 million around the world. Every dollar of your donation will go to life-changing research. We are close to a cure, but we have to keep supporting organizations like the Alzheimer's Association to get there.

So, will you chip in?

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