Come join our Actors & Artists Hermosa Beach team as we walk on Saturday, October 7th at the beautiful Hermosa Beach Pier- our 13th year! 

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 Saturday, October 7th at the Hermosa Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier Plaza, 1-11 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. Registration begins at 9 AM and the Opening and Promise Flower Ceremonies begin at 10 AM. We will walk along the Boardwalk following the ceremonies and anyone can join us virtually as well. We are a team- whether we are six inches, six feet or hundreds of miles apart- we are a team and our work for a cure can happen from any location! 

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