Dear March Madness Committee,
“She, she doesn’t even remember me,” wept my grandmother when she returned from her visit with
her sister, my great aunt, with Alzheimers. Alzheimers is a horrible disease that damages the brain.
Over five million people in the United States alone suffer from Alzheimers. I would like to thank the
Alzheimers Association for all of the hard work they have put into researching cures and helping the
millions suffering around the country. I am writing to tell you that I have suffered losses from
Alzheimers, that people should learn about it, and that everyone should know the amazing things
that this association does for Alzheimers patients and their families.
First, I have suffered a tremendous amount of losses due to this horrible disease. Over the past four
years I have lost two aunts to Alzheimers. I also have an aunt who has just recently been diagnosed.
It is sickening to see the effects of this disease on people’s minds. I remember visiting one of my
aunts while she was still alive. It took three people to get her situated at the table. When her meal
was served she wouldn’t touch her adult food. When my grandmother asked her why she wasn’t
eating, she responded, “I want that.” She was pointing to the hot dog and smiley face shaped french
fries on my plate. It was as if her mind had gone back into her childhood. She eventually was served
a hot dog and fries, but she had no idea how to use the ketchup. She unscrewed the top of the bottle
and it poured out all over her clothes, her plate, and the tablecloth. I began to smirk thinking this was
just a funny accident. My mom told me to stop. At the time I didn’t know why, but now I know the
truth. We visited her again a few weeks before she passed.
The look on her face was blank. Not just an empty piece of paper blank, but a scary terrifying blank.
My other aunt passed away recently. Before her death she had to wear an adult diaper for she could
no longer remember how to use the restroom. At her wake my grandmother cried more than I have
ever seen anyone cry. She kept saying that she would be next. She was saying this because she has
only one sister left. She had four of them just a mere ten years ago. It was horrible because every
time she said that I would think about not having her around and that sent a throbbing pain through
my heart. I remembered how my cousins felt when their mothers who had Alzheimers passed away
and I didn’t want to feel that way. Fortunately my grandmother is doing fine. In addition, my
grandfather’s sister has Alzheimer’s. My parents are saying that her diagnosis is ten times worse that
my other aunts. I really hope she doesn’t leave us too soon because losing three aunts in four years
would be devastating for our family. However this would affect my grandparents most as it would be
three siblings lost due to Alzheimer’s. Could you imagine losing a brother or sister? Or how about
having your younger sibling pass away before you? Now that would be upsetting. I realize that my
family is not the only family in the world going through this. If the money we raise goes to the
Alzheimer’s Association then much of this grief can be put to an end.
Next, I believe you should know about Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s was first described by German
Doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1906. Alzheimer’s is a progressive and fatal brain disease. As mentioned,
it affects over 5 million people within just the United States. Alzheimer’s is most commonly known
today for memory loss, but that is not all that it does. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, and causes
problems thinking and behaving in a normal manner. Alzheimer’s prevents people from participating
in many everyday activities such as driving, eating, and using technology. An example of this was
what you just learned about my aunt. Alzheimer’s is unfortunately the sixth leading cause of death
today in the United States. Also, Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. Unfortunately,
Alzheimer’s gets worse over time and is a fatal disease. But, most unfortunate of all is that there is
no cure. Research for a cure has been going on for decades, but regrettably no cure has been found.
Alzheimer’s just gets worse every day and there is no stopping it. In the past people have believed
that certain metals like aluminum cause Alzheimer’s, but that is not true. It is known that every
seventy-one seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s. Some people also think that only older people
can get Alzheimer’s, but that is not correct. Nearly anybody middle age and up can be diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s. Ten million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime. Alzheimer’s
is also a very expensive disease. Medicaid and business expenses amount to more than 148 billion
each year. As you can see Alzheimer’s is a very devastating disease.
Last, the Alzheimer’s Association does many things to help people with the disease and their
families. First, they have hundreds of offices around the country prepared to take action for the
patient. Each local chapter offers five main services. The first one is information and referral. This
service provides a helpline to help family and patients to deal with the emotional stress of
Alzheimer’s. This service also has its own website and gives access to the association’s resources at
the Green-Field Library. The association also helps clients with caregiving, legal matters, and
financial matters. The next service it provides is Care Consultation. The Care Consultation can help
families in many ways. First, they help the families make the right choices for their relative with
Alzheimer’s. For example, imagine if you had to choose a caregiver for your relative with
Alzheimer’s.
You have two choices, but have no idea who to pick. Wouldn’t you like a guiding hand to help you
find the best caregiver for your family member? I know that I would. The third service it provides is
Support Groups. These groups are either peer or professionally led groups for all kinds of people.
They help kids whose parents have Alzheimer’s, family members of people with Alzheimer’s and
the people with Alzheimer’s themselves. Another service they have is safety services. They help
patients join programs to help keep them safe. They also help patients acquire things like trackers
and alerts so that if a patient wanders off or has a medical emergency these tools can assist law
enforcement. Finally, the last service that they provide is education. Topics of education that the
chapters provide are: the basics of the disease, dealing with a diagnosis, activity programming,
caregiving services, and safety tips. Besides these five services, there is much more that the
association does. The association provides financial aid as well to help poorer families cope with the
disease. Some of the money we would donate to the association would be used to help find a cure so
that nobody anywhere would have to live and die with this horrible sickness.
I hope you can now clearly see why Alzheimer’s deserves the money. First I have many connections
and heartfelt losses to Alzheimer’s. Also, Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease, and finally the
association does a lot for the community. Our money would be an enormous help. No person in our
world deserves to live with a disease like this and with our help maybe someday nobody will have to
live with it.
Sincerely,
Ryan Marquis