According to Forbes, 92% of people who make a New Year’s resolution don’t make it until December 31st. With this in mind, I wanted to make a resolution I knew I could stick to. Let me explain.
For the last five years, I have been a volunteer Ambassador with the Alzheimer's Association. After my grandfather was diagnosed in 2006 and I watched the toll the disease took on myself and my family, I knew I couldn't sit by without action. Alzheimer's disease was the only cause of my grandpa's death, and at the end, he passed without any memories of his life or the one's he loved.
Find out what's happening in Oak Lawnfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In the last two years, as a direct result of the hard work of Alzheimer’s Association Ambassador Teams from across the country, Congress has nearly doubled funding for Alzheimer's Disease research. Despite this, dementia research funding still lags far behind other chronic diseases. You may be surprised to find out that Alzheimer's is sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the only major chronic disease that has NO survivors. That is, there is no cure and nothing to slow the progression of this terrible disease.
Find out what's happening in Oak Lawnfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Right now in Illinois, 220,000 people have Alzheimer’s and 600,000 serve as caregivers – meaning that nearly eight percent of our state’s population is living this experience daily. Thankfully, we’re beginning to see some real progress: the Alzheimer’s Association has been extremely successful in raising public awareness of the disease and thanks to increased federal research funding, we’re finally beginning to see breakthroughs in our understanding of dementia and possible treatments.
I want to thank Congressman Dan Lipinski who agreed at a recent Town Hall meeting that when the budget comes to a vote in the Spring, he will support an increase in federal research funding for Alzheimer’s disease. With support from leaders like Rep. Lipinski we can make a difference in the lives of the people this disease impacts directly and help prevent millions more from ever developing it.
My resolve to work towards a world without Alzheimer's is stronger than ever. If you'd like more information on how you can get involved with the Alzheimer's Association please visit www.alz.org/Illinois. It might be the first resolution you can actually keep.
