I'm leading the way to Alzheimer's first survivor by participating in the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's. Currently, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's and that number is expected to grow to as many as 14 million by 2050. Our future is at risk unless we can find a way to change the course of this disease.

My personal experience with Alzheimer's was that of my dad who was diagnosed my senior year in high school with early onset at the age of 61. From there it was a downward spiral of mood swings, emotions and frustration from both my dad and our family. His part was that he could recognize something was wrong but couldn't explain it to us; ours was that we just didn't know how to handle the situation. Over the years things just got worse but we tried to make the better of it by taking as many family trips together as possible to make lasting memories to be remembered later on. The only joy that seemed to keep him going was the thought of getting to hold his future grandson that he could physically see by my growing belly or from sonogram pictures. What made it even better was him getting to see in person the gender reveal and the look of amazement on his face I will never forget. But sadly after his 68th birthday on April 1, 2019 things turned for the worst. He held out as long as he could to see me through my pregnancy but his body couldn't handle the stress and began to slowly shut down. He passed on April 28, 2019 only a week before I gave birth. There is no greater joy than knowing that my baby has his own guardian angel watching over him and our family. So, this is definitely not where my daddy's story ends but more of where it begins so I can help others in his honor and to help find a cure.

Together, we can end Alzheimer's disease. Please make a donation to advance the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer's Association.

Thank you for joining the fight against Alzheimer's!