Hello! My name is Maria Conner and wanted to personally thank you for taking the time to check out my personal fundraising page for “why I walk” in Pittsburgh’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s. This year marks 4 years I’ve been apart of the Alzheimer’s Society through raising money and awareness regarding the disease in the Pittsburgh area.

 I became a walk member at the start of 2019, after losing my beautiful grandmother (Mary L. Fischer) to the terrible disease she battled for close to 10 or more years. Her doctor was able to catch the disease early and placed her on medication to help slow it down, but told us it would only help her for so long. The medication worked well, up until the last 5 years she was with us. In those last 5 years, it was extremely hard to see someone you truly love begin to slow down and become forgetful. 

With her health declining, my family took it upon ourselves to be her personal caretakers since it was her wish to remain in her home. Not knowing how much longer we had with her I made it a point to spend as much time as I could with her before she left us. Among all the moments I spent with her, the greatest of all was having her attend my wedding in May of 2017. However, little did we know after that she no longer would be able to go to other family celebrations due to her condition only worsening. 

In January 2019, after saying our goodbyes I made a promise that I would try my best to help others who have a loved one battling this disease get the care and medication needed. Since making that promise I have become a non-profit volunteer and an advocacy speaker on behalf of the PGH area in the past four years and can't wait to see what else is in store for me on behalf of my grandmother. With a new year upon us, I would like to reach $1,500 in order to provide more help! Will you consider donating to such a wonderful cause, to help us as a whole get one step closer to one day finding a cure? Remember only together, we all can end the Alzheimer's disease no matter the size of your donation!

Thank you for joining the fight against Alzheimer's!