The worst thing about Alzheimer's disease is nothing can be done to stop it.
Not really. Not yet.
True, there are pills that might slow its progress, and self-health magazines are full of suggestions about how to avoid its clutches in the first place. But once a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, they have climbed aboard a one-way train.
With other killers like cancer and chronic heart disease, there is almost always a light at the end of the tunnel, even if the light is only flickering. In the worst cases, we have heart transplants and kidney transplants and liver transplants to wrench victory from defeat.
Brain transplants, unfortunately, remain in the realm of science fiction.
Forest resident Jeff Woodford couldn't save his father, grandmother and aunt, all of whom died from Alzheimer's side effects. All he could do, besides helping to make them comfortable, was watch the slow disintegration.
This Saturday, though, Woodford finally will do something proactive — walk. Locally, the Walk to End Alzheimer's will start at 8 a.m. in Wyndhurst and according to the sponsoring Alzheimer's Association:
"Participants will participate in a 2-mile walk and will learn more about Alzheimer's disease, advocacy opportunities, clinical trial enrollment, and support programs and services of the Alzheimer’s Association. Each walker will also join in a meaningful tribute ceremony to honor those affected by Alzheimer's disease."
"Alzheimer's doesn't kill people by itself," Woodford said, "but it always leads to something else fatal. My dad died of pneumonia from it, basically choking to death. Of my three brothers, it worked out that I was the one to see most of this, because I was the one still in this area."
Woodford lost his grandmother, Eva Laughon Woodford, when he was nine; his aunt, Reva Watson, when he was 31 and his dad, William, a year later.
“Those are my last memories of my dad, those last five years when he had Alzheimer's," he said.
For at its worst, Alzheimer not only ends the life of its human host but consumes the essence of that person. People with terminal cancer usually remain themselves — albeit a wounded version — at the end of the line, and loved ones can share and sympathize with their pain. In many cases, someone with Alzheimer's has burned all bridges of recognition.
Thankfully, the good memories usually resurface. Of his family members with Alzheimer's, Woodford said: "The central thing each of them possessed was a love of life, love of people, love of family, and interest in many varied things, and I'd like to think they passed those same qualities on to me.”
You know the drill — the Walk to End Alzheimer's works through pledged donations, and entrants are encouraged to form teams for mutual support. The money collected will go towards Alzheimer's research.
That's the one piece of good news about Alzheimer's. Almost every family has been affected by it in some way, and the rising tide of baby boomers makes this high on the list of diseases to cure.
Part of this unquestionably stems from our natural desire to help others, as well as a need to memorialize the Alzheimer's victims within our own family circles. But there is a financial incentive — whoever discovers an effective, universal cure for this awful disease will become rich beyond their wildest imaginings.
Perhaps, as with AIDS, this will come in stages. First, a drug will surface to extend the life of those with Alzheimer's, then another to extend it further. And finally, a solution.
"I have no doubt that they will find a cure someday," Jeff Woodford said. "Obviously, since it's in my family, I'm hoping they do it soon."
The Alzheimer's Association of Central and Western Virginia serves 51 counties and the cities of Charlottesville, Roanoke, Lynchburg and Danville. For more information about Saturday's walk, go to alz.org/walk[1] or call Jane Massie, Walk Coordinator at (434) 845-8540.
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