my story revisited #107-presentations

MY STORY REVISITED #107-PRESENTATIONS

i have been doing walks to end alzheimers now for the last 11 years
several of them have been emotional for me
one was the walks done in 2013 after my younger brother died

my wife she and i went to little rock to do the alzheimers walk after my brother died
that was the one that i probably cried the most at

my first was one where my wife she and i just showed up to walk the day of the walk
it was emotional as we walked and listened to the walkers and listened to the folks at the opening ceremony talking about their personal experiences
it wasnt long after those walks that i was being asked to talk prior to the walks
ive done this numerous times now and i cry every time when i start to talk about my younger brother and my mom dying from the disease

another time i had trouble continuing when i was talking here in santa barbara when ms b yelled out when i looked at her
granddaddy 
sorry i lost it that day but finally got composure enough to continue

so 
yes these walks are emotional for me and for others affected by this disease

prior to the walk in 2013 we did a silent auction to raise money at a local restaurant with an outside venue
we auctioned off a beautiful alzheimers quilt made by a former classmate who was a plastic and hand surgeon who did quilting for a hobby
it got sold finally after a bidding war
i still regret not making a bid on it

another prize was a raised bed vegetable garden that i built and planted for the winner

those were the two biggest prizes

now
for my fundraisers i usually use social media to reach out to friends family and readers of my blog and to folks who have listened to my presentations

when i add up how much my teams have raised in the last 11 years for the alzheimers walks i realize how successful our efforts have been

the local alzheimers organizations like alzheimers texas alzheimers arkansas alzheimers greater la and the alzheimers association have made the difference in providing local services to folks in the dementia world and for having influence on politicians to support alzheimers research

we wouldnt be where we are today without their influence

support your local alzheimers walks
they do make a difference
________
09-06-2013

PRESENTATION WAS GOOD
 
this is how we did our presentation of our items for
our silent auction we held last wednesday
you can get an idea of the size and beauty of that
alzheimers memory quilt

this week as i put all the work that went into getting
this silent auction all set up
i thought
why am i really doing all of this
is it really making much of a difference in the long run

ok if you are over 65 or if your family member is over
65 you or they have a 1 in 3 chance of getting alzheimers
that folks is high odds

what can we do about it right now if we get it
not much im afraid
it is maybe worse than cancer
its the kiss of death
if you get it you will die from it

since i probably have alzheimers disease and am on aricept
(donepezil) because of this possibility
and
since my mother died from alzheimers and my dad probably
had alzheimers
and
since my younger brother sadly died last month from this
horrible disease
i felt like i need to do something to advance the cause
so

i participate right now in three large alzheimers research studies
at ut southwestern medical school alzheimers research center

i write this blog although not all about alzheimers i try to write
about it at least every friday
this blog is read by people across the us and several countries

i talk to everyone who will listen to me about alzheimers

i wear if you will an alzheimers chip on my shoulder

i give talks on alzheimers when asked-i have 2 this month

i am on three of the walk to end alzheimers committees  in
this area
i have a team
the organicgreendoctor in the williamson county walk to end alzheimers
where i do most of my fundraising
a team in the bell county walk to end alzheimers
a team with austin regional clinic in the austin wallk to end alzheimers
and
i support my brothers team
#joe nash for this years first el dorado ark walk to end alzheimers
 
why is the fundraising important for the alzheimers association
the alzheimers association is the third largest supporter of research
in the world behind china and the us national institute of health

the only way the alzheimers association gets funding is through
donations and fundraising
most of their funds are received from these walk to end alzheimers

its only through research that the answer to adequately
treating this disease will be found
and
that funding can only come from you and me
as the government needs to put more monies in towards
finding the answer
so
thats why i do all this talking and writing about these walks
since its important to me personally but its important
to all of you
now or in the future as it will be affecting 100% of you
in some way

you can go to www.alz.org/walk to find a walk in your area
find your state and click on it
then find the walk near you

its you and i that will help find the answer
_________

i have set up my team for the walk to end alzheimers in santa barbara named
organicgreendoctor at this link

because of the pandemic we will not be walking at the walk site but will walk a route up to the santa barbara mission by ourselves wearing our alzheimers walk shirts and carrying our alzheimers flags

we will be thinking of our lived ones who had alzheimers 
mom nell
brother joe
probably dad charles
and
me

i seem to be the lucky one to have gotten a temporary reprieve

please feel free to donate to or join our team to help raise funds to fight this awful disease

the organicgreen doctor