I was

talking to my hairdresser yesterday about my memory.

Actually we

were discussing Maureen Reagan's recent remarks about the

first time her dad exhibited signs of Alzheimer's. She

said the family was chatting over dinner about a movie he

had made in the `50s. He asked a couple of questions, and

then announced that he had absolutely no recollection of

ever having made such a film.

This

comment came out during what appeared to be an

announcement that former President Reagan's Alzheimer's

is worsening.

So, I'm

talking about this with Carol and I tell her I've never

had a good memory.

"Really?"

she asked. "You remember the names of your school

teachers, don't you?"

"No,"

I said. Actually I've been trying, since our

conversation, and I've come up with first grade, third

grade, fifth grade, ninth grade algebra. I'm quite proud

of myself.

A few years

back, a psychologist helped me to understand why I have

no early memory. It's called PTSD, or post traumatic

stress disorder.

As a child

we know well how to enjoy the moment and I never let go

of that ability. In fact I developed it. It was the way I

survived. I chose to live for the present moment for more

reasons than you can imagine. I won't bore you today with

my childhood stresses, since I'm sure many of you have

enough of your own, to try to remember or forget.

My point,

if I have one today, is that I do not understand as much

about Alzheimer's disease as I'd like to. My heart aches

for those who are labeled with such terms. I want to know

more. Is it a genetic thing? Or, is it an overload of

sorts that shorts out parts of the brain. Or was it a

choice at some point in time? Is the genetic

predisposition there and is disease triggered by the

stress we go through?

Oh yes, I

have many questions. And folks like Elaine Gaillard and

Floy Farr of Peachtree City are determined to help me

find answers.

They have

set their minds and energy toward raising public

awareness with the first ever south side Memory Walk,

coming in September.

I just

invited Elaine to do a guest column in The Community

Health Focus for the months of April through August. So,

yeah, I want to help raise awareness, too. And I think

Dr. Paul Colon is going to get on board as well. His mom

died with Alzheimer's, and he just opened Governor's Glen

in Forest Park, which I understand is dedicated to caring

for patients with memory impairment.

Elaine was

telling me this morning that a recent Memory Walk in San

Diego raised a quarter of a million dollars. Great, huh?

Not really. Not when you consider that there are reported

to be an estimated 60,000 individuals in the San Diego

area with Alzheimer's. And at a recent fund-raiser there

for AIDS, $3 million was raised, while approximately

6,000 folks in the San Diego area have AIDS.

There are

limited funds to help care for those with memory

impairment. And there's nowhere near enough money for all

the research that is needed to appropriate a cure. This

is about to be a major problem in America.

At the

present time, 70 percent of those with memory impairment

are cared for in the home by family care givers. We are

told that 76 percent of these care givers work outside

the home.

Not good.

The early

symptoms include forgetting ordinary functions, getting

lost, being unable to name common objects like a pen or

calendar or comb, etc. A victim may lose things

frequently, and exhibit loss of interest, unusual

behaviors, and puzzling mood changes. Then comes loss of

speech, reason and judgement.

Care is

needed around the clock and many caregivers still have to

punch clocks in order to make a living for themselves and

other family members. There must be more awareness now.

You never know what tomorrow may hold when society

becomes overwhelmed with this problem. Some things should

not be postponed.

Elaine and

Floy are making it clear that this issue must be

addressed now. I'm joining them. Call me at 770-460-5000

if you want to get involved, too. Knowledge and numbers

make a difference. The money will come.

Hopefully,

the money will come before our memories start to go. Now

that I have some degree of memory, I'd like to hold on to

it for as long as I can. How about you? Call Elaine at

Ashley Glen in Peachtree City (770-631-0205) or call me

if you want to help raise awareness and money for

Alzheimer's research.