5.4 Million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease
15 million people care for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease costs us $200 BILLION annually
1 in 3 has a family member affected by Alzheimer’s
The numbers are staggering. Where is the outrage? Where is the outcry?
Those statistics, pulled directly from the US Against Alzheimer’s foundation website speak loudly and clearly. Alzheimer’s disease has a tremendous impact on our lives as Americans and is often hidden behind closed doors. The US Against Alzheimer’s Foundation’s mission is to urgently and relentlessly encourage policy makers to show some real progress toward finding a cure.
The result this far? Most notably, through the efforts of the US Against Alzheimer’s foundation the White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to set the goal of preventing and treating Alzheimer’s by 2025 along with a national plan to achieve that goal. Way to go!
Why this blog post today, you ask? Well, Us Against Alzheimer’s and their partner organization, Surviving Grace are cooking up something special in Evanston on the evening of June 13th!
Loni Anderson is on a mission to help caregivers, since she was one herself, having care for both parents who suffered from chronic diseases.
Marilu Henner, best known as the red-head Elaine in Taxi, know is active in memory-related issues. She most recently raised $100,000 for the Alzheimer’s Foundation and donated her $50,000 Celebrity Apprentice check to the organization as well.
After nearly 4 decades on the air, Diane Rehm has decided to give up the microphone and pursue issues close to her heart. After the death of her husband she has become an advocate for end-of-life decisions. In Surviving Grace Rehm portrays a woman who has Alzheimer’s.
Ditka has been a long-time advocate of players who suffer memory-related issues off the field.
After nearly 4 decades on the air, Diane Rehm has decided to give up the microphone and pursue issues close to her heart. After the death of her husband she has become an advocate for end-of-life decisions. In Surviving Grace Rehm portrays a woman who has Alzheimer’s.
Recognize any of these faces? Of course you do! The all-star cast above will be reading Act one of Us Against Alzheimer co-founder Trisha Vrandenburg’s screenplay, Surviving Grace.
What makes me excited? Trisha combined what I feel is most important in attacking a major issue like curing Alzheimer’s – wit, intelligence, and HUMOR to bring levity and draw us into the real world people who have Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.
Seeing this team behind the fight makes me hopeful that we are headed in the right direction. Let’s disrupt the conversation, open the conversation, and bring finding a cure and greater treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease to the limelight.
Want to join me? You can purchase tickets on the Surviving Grace Website and give me a call to meet up at the show!
https://www.survivinggrace.org/
