Reader calls on Spartz to support more research for Alzheimer’s

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Dear Editor:

Did you know nearly seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s Disease and over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias?

I happen to be one of those unpaid caregivers.

My father, who is 87 and lives in California, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year. I knew something was “off” with him several months before and started flying out to see him every month to check on him. His refrigerator was always near empty or contained expired foods and I noticed how frail he was. At 5-foot-7, he weighed only 122 pounds. I observed during my stays that he would forget to eat and stay hydrated. I would need to remind him when it was time for a meal.

I became extremely concerned about him.

It wasn’t long before he had a fall in his home last summer, becoming extremely disoriented to the point that he couldn’t walk unassisted and didn’t know where his unit was in his building. Thankfully, soon after the fall, he agreed to 24/7 in-home caregivers.

Meanwhile, I became involved with the Greater Indiana Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. I attend a monthly caregiver support group that has been extremely helpful. (There are online and in-person groups all around the state.)

I am also an advocacy volunteer, working with the Alzheimer’s Association team to amplify their work in increasing funding for much needed research. The Alzheimer’s Association’s commitment to ending Alzheimer’s has led to monumental investments in dementia, research, care, and support over the past decade, but we must keep working to secure critical advancements in detection, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.

That is why I am asking my Representative, Victoria Spartz, to support increased research funding at the National Institutes of Health.

I invite you to join me in this fight by contacting your representative in Congress. Visit alz.org to learn more about the Alzheimer’s advocacy efforts and how you can become involved. Together, we can bring an end to Alzheimer’s and All Other Dementia™.

Since January, I’ve been visiting my dad every other month to attend doctor’s appointments, to handle finances, and to spend time with the man who I have most admired in my life – before he can no longer remember me.

Jennifer Mahoney
Fishers