This is a picture of my Mom ( 2nd from righ) and my two sisters.  That's me on the far right.....with some Jersey big hair.  Mom always wanted  to go to San Francisco so we planned a girls trip.  Mom thought it would be cute to buy us matching jackets - this brought back some fond memories when we all dressed alike!

My first exposure to dementia and Alzheimers  ( which was not a diagnosis at the time) was wondering why my grandfather, who lived with us,  would leave the home in the middle of the night ( wandering)  and why he would ask me to call the police because these people ( my parents) were keeping him hostage.  At age 7,  this was very confusing and scary to me.  My grandfather also had very limited vision which made it all the more frightening for him.  When my parents could no longer care for him,  they placed him in a nursing home and shortly thereafter he was transferred to a mental institution where he later died.

His daughter,  my Mom,  made a point of telling her five children to never send her to one of those places,  and we honored her request.  Initially we had a young caregiver with her,  but as her dementia developed it was necessary to have round the clock shifts of family members and professionals care for her.  My Mom’s generation had that perfect cursive handwriting and I cried the day the caregiver called me and said that Mom could no longer sign her name.   Here was a woman with five children who never kept any written lists,  who managed to get us to all of our games and classes,  but now could not recall what she had for lunch, or even that she had just had lunch.   

Prior to my Mom’s passing in 2010,   I had already started getting involved with the Alzheimer’s Association.   I  ran the Baltimore Half-Marathon for 4 years,  hosted Yoga events for the Longest Day,  participated in the Memory Ball and continue to recruit walkers for my 10th Walk.   All in, I have raised over $170,000 for the Alzheimer's Association and I won't stop working on this until there is a survivor.  I am excited to organize and motivate my Workout4Alzheimer's team and hope to attract some new walkers.  

 Our vision

A world without Alzheimer's and other dementias.

Our mission

Our mission is to transform the landscape of dementia forever. Until the day we find a cure, we will strive to create a society where those affected by dementia are supported and accepted, able to live in their community without fear or prejudice.

 DON’T JUST HOPE FOR A CURE……HELP US FIND ONE!

Please come walk with us on or if you can’t be there,  I would greatly appreciate any donation you can make!