I walk to honor both of my parents.

On May 15th, 2023, My Dad passed away at home with his wife ( My Mom) and one of his beloved caregivers. Last year's walk and this year's walk I will be walking for both of my Parents but especially in loving memory of my Dad.

I remember the day 15 years ago when my Mom called me and told me my Dad had just been to see the doctor and was told he has "memory problems". I was in Nursing school at the time and I remember hanging up the phone and feeling devastated. The first couple of years my Dad was struggling with memory problems, I felt powerless. It broke my heart to watch my Pops, the man I call my Dad, my hero - the man that walked into my life when I was 15 and changed my life forever after my biological Father had walked out on my Mother, Brother and Me - A man with a Doctorate in Education, two masters degrees and a degree in electrical engineering who could fix anything (Handy Andy we called him) - struggle just to complete his daily activities .

11 years ago I saw my Dad start to decline and I felt so powerless to help him. That's when I started doing the Modesto Walk to END Alzheimer's. I remember at first I told my Mom it was my "silent" way of fighting for my Dad. But then I decided it wasn't such a silent way to fight. It was actually a powerful way and the only way I knew to fight this horrible disease.

Fighting ALZ started out as a fight for my Dad, But then every day at work I was seeing patients that had a grandma or a grandpa, a sister or a brother, a husband or a wife, a mother or a father, an uncle or an aunt or a neighbor that has been affected by Alzheimer's. I am shocked just how many people are directly affected by the disease or are Caregivers for someone that has Alzheimer's.

I have continued every year with the help of my incredible friends, family and husband to create new ways to raise money. And every day I continue to have HOPE !

My Mother is the strongest woman I know. A trailblazer for Women and Equality and at the same time a loving and devoted Wife and Mother. Later on an amazing caregiver for my Dad. Her Bachelors and Masters degrees are from Stanford and Her Doctorate from BYU. What an incredible woman !

My Mother has been valiantly battling Lewy Body Dementia with features of Alzheimer's for the last few years with so much strength and courage, it's nothing less than inspirational. But at the same time just soul crushing. Anyone that has seen a loved one go through this knows how difficult. How sad. How awful this can be. My Mom just keeps her head up and keeps fighting. It's just incredible.

Alzheimer's Dementia is the cruelest disease I have ever seen. It's a horribly isolating disease among many things. Many people are afraid or don't know how to react to or interact with people that have Alzheimer's. Many friends that used to call and visit my parents no longer keep in touch at all. They just don't know what to do or say so they slowly drift away. Truly heartbreaking. And that was BEFORE COVID !!!

I will say on a positive note that I have found that the caregivers that have taken care of my Parents while on this journey are some of the most incredible people I have ever met. They become family. They fill the void that some of the other friends have left.

I continue to have hope. I continue to believe we will find a cure. I continue to share my experiences from what I have learned from my Dad and what I am learning now from my Mom's journey.

I will continue to fight for a cure, spread awareness and I truly hope to see the first survivor in my lifetime !

Please join me in this fight so that soon we will see a world without Alzheimer's !!!