Move the Cause Forward

This is the time of year that they begin popping up all over – fundraising walks. These walks have become very popular in the last few years. They are a great way to raise awareness and to raise money for worthy causes. Some people walk because a friend asks them or because they want to get out and enjoy the weather while doing something good or some people walk because of a deep seated passion.

In the past I have fallen into the first two groups, but now I fall into the last group. I still participate in other walks to support friends in their causes, but I am a woman with a passion now, a woman with a cause. Honestly, I wish I didn’t have this passion, but because of circumstances I couldn’t control I had no choice. You see in the last ten years of my mother’s life she was increasingly tortured by dementia. My family and I became all too familiar with the devastation that dementia wreaks. It is this that fuels my passion and my cause. My goal is to wreak devastation on dementia so that someday other families won’t have to go through what we went through and other people won’t have to suffer as my Mom did.

Dementia is a generic term to describe a cluster of symptoms. There are many types of dementias that have slightly different symptoms. Alzheimer’s is currently the leading cause of dementia accounting for 60% of the population of people with dementia. Lewy Body Dementia affects 20% of the population of people with dementia and Vascular dementias affect 10-20%.

This year will mark the second annual walking of the Lewy Ladybugs in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk. 2009 marks the 20th year of Memory Walks in Colorado. This year’s theme is “Move the Cause Forward.” All funds raised during the Memory Walks in communities around the country go the local Alzheimer’s Associations. These groups provide support and education to their local communities.

You can find out where the Memory Walk is happening near you by visiting the Memory Walk Web Page.