Come join our Actors & Artists Unite San Fernando Valley Team as we walk on Sunday, October 22nd  at LA Pierce College in Woodland Hills!

I walk in honor and in memory of my dad- CDR Frederick T Daly. He was my rock- my harbor- the one person in this world that I could always count on.

He was my dad. 

There was a sentence I lived to hear- “Why, that’s just wonderful!” I heard it every time I booked a job. I heard it every time I called him after every VA Hospital volunteer visit. I heard it so many times throughout every Alzheimer’s Walk season. I founded AA Unite in honor of my mom, but I founded it for my dad. To give him hope after he lost the love of his life- and to make the promise- “A cure in our lifetime- I promise you, Dad- we’ll find it.” I worked so hard to make my family proud, but he was the one I wanted to shine for.

He took care of my mom throughout the years of her Alzheimer’s. “She is my love- I cannot leave her.” He cared for her every day until she died in May of 2012.  In time, his memory began to falter. He stopped driving and his world began to narrow. Having lived through it before, I knew he was in the beginning stages of Dementia. He would ask the same questions over and over. He was still my dad- kind, patient, caring and a gentle pillar of wisdom and heart. In his last year, I was able to see my dad for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. He was having trouble walking, so, I managed canes, walkers and the wheelchair to make sure he was safe. I got to tell him how proud, honored and blessed I was to be his daughter.
In his last six weeks, he was in the hospital. I combed his hair, put lotion on his face and held his hand- for 12-18 hours at a time. That’s what a daughter does- we take care of our fathers- and it is an honor.  Someone said- “You will have a hole in your heart”- but that was filled a hundred times over with the promises I made to him- “I promised you- a cure in our lifetime. and now, I will walk that much further; I will work that much harder for my half of the promise- a cure in mine. I’m not losing you, Dad- you’ll always be with me.  I promise- I will do you proud.”
He died July 12th, 2019.  I miss him every day- and yet, I know he is always with me as I walk to keep my promise to find a cure for a soldier who took his final walk and a father who is finally at peace. 

So, come join us on Sunday, October 22nd at LA Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave, Woodland Hills, CA. Registration begins at 8 AM and the Opening and Promise Flower Ceremonies begin at 9 AM and the Walk will begin at 9:15 AM. All are welcome to join us- in person or from afar!

All are welcome! And as we Irish say- Slainte!

Nancy Daly
Founder and National Team Captain and Coordinator
Actors and Artists Unite to End Alzheimer's
www.alz.org/AAUnite - our national team page!

https://act.alz.org/Forms/living-in-twilight--a-daughters-alzheimers-story-2013.docx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE9eVfcdBQw&t=6s

Actors & Artists Unite began in May of 2011 via a series of phone calls and emails to my fellow actor friends around the country -- "Gang- I have this idea . . ." By September, four teams walked in Washington DC, New York City, Miami and Los Angeles and raised $23,000 in their first year. In 2013, Actors and Artists Unite became the first non-corporate Friends and Family National Team for the Walk to End Alzheimer's. We have teams from Wisconsin to Louisiana; from California to Massachusetts; from Connecticut to Florida and a wonderful team that is based in New York and London, England. In December of 2021, the Actors & Artists Unite National Team reached the historic goal of having raised over $300,000.

I read the stories of all of our teams - "I lost my grandmother . . . my dad . . . we are at the point of having to put our mom in a facility. She is wandering out of the house and most of the time- she doesn't know us." So many families- so much loss and suffering. AA Unite was built by reaching out to our friends and colleagues around the country via word of mouth and social media. We would hear- "I'm walking in with you in Texas! We just started a team in Tennessee!" Through this team, I have discovered the compassion and strength of the artistic community around the country. Now that we are a national team, it is always so thrilling to hear "Nance I have a friend who is at Oregon Shakes. I have a friend who works at Disney. Do we have a team in Ashland? Do we have a team in Orlando?" and I get to say "We do now!"

I lost my father in the summer of 2019 - he had Dementia. I had promised him - "A cure in our lifetime." Now, I work that much harder, walk that much further to keep my half of that promise - a cure in mine. We walk for our own loved ones and for each other. We walk for anyone who knows how heartbreaking it is to look in the eyes of someone you love and have them not know you- to watch them fade away until they can no longer speak or move. This is Alzheimer's.

We walk for a cure. We walk to bring light out of all this darkness. And when we walk in hope and strength for a future- that all can remember - we walk in glory.

So, come join us! Come walk with us on Sunday, October 17th in person at Woodley Park or from afar. We are a team- from six inches, six feet or from afar- our work for a cure can take place anywhere! All are welcome! And as we Irish say - Slainte!!"

In loving solidarity —

Nancy Daly
Founder and National Team Captain and Coordinator
Actors and Artists Unite to End Alzheimer's
www.alz.org/AAUnite - our national team page!

My family's story- https://act.alz.org/Forms/living-in-twilight--a-daughters-alzheimers-story-2013.docx

Alzheimer’s isn’t stopping and neither are we. By participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s®, I’m raising funds and awareness to advance the fight against this disease — funds that allow the Alzheimer’s Association® to provide 24/7 care and support while accelerating critical research.

Families facing Alzheimer’s and all other dementia need us now more than ever — and with your help, we can be there for them. Please make a donation or register as a participant and start your own fundraising. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s disease. 

Thank you!