Tell the Presidential Candidates to #ENDALZ

25 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by Ann Napoletan in Advocacy and Awareness, Call to Action, USAgainstAlzheimer's, Washington

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alzheimers, Alzheimers advocacy, alzheimers call to action, alzheimers funding, alzheimers research, dementia, usagainstalzheimers

With the general election less than four months away, we must let BOTH candidates know we expect them to make ending Alzheimer’s a top priority. This is a bipartisan issue – Alzheimer’s affects all of us regardless of political affiliation! We are not the red party or the blue party, we’re the Alzheimer’s party and we will be heard!

Click the red button below to join me in asking our next President to help end this devastating disease by making a commitment to fully fund the $2 billion that researchers say we need annually to find a cure.

Remembering Pat Summitt

28 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by Ann Napoletan in Advocacy and Awareness, Celebrities, Face of Alzheimer's, Grieving, Pat Summitt, Quotes, Saying Goodbye, USAgainstAlzheimer's

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alzheimers, dementia, Pat Summitt

pat_summit Today, our hearts are heavy with the loss of a legend – a loss at the hand of Alzheimer’s.

May Coach Summitt rest peacefully knowing she impacted countless lives during her time on this earth. What a tremendous coach, role model, and human being.

My mother was an avid follower of women’s basketball and a big fan of Pat Summitt. Both were beautiful, strong, vibrant, seemingly invincible women – and then came Alzheimer’s.

Attitude lies somewhere between emotion and logic. It’s that curious mix of optimism and determination that enables you to maintain a positive outlook and to continue plodding in the face of the most adverse circumstances.

Coach Summitt’s spirit and memory will live on, continuing to touch lives, empower women, and inspire people of all ages. We can honor her life and all the lives lost to Alzheimer’s by boldly continuing to fight this horrific disease. We must be resolute in our determination to #ENDALZ, and we simply cannot stop until the battle is won.

In the coming days and weeks, our hearts and prayers will be with the family, especially son, Tyler, as well as Coach Summitt’s many friends, colleagues, and former players.

Read more about Pat Summitt in this New York Times article and in this press release from UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s & Gratitude: A Matter of Perspective

15 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Ann Napoletan in Advocacy and Awareness, alzheimer's & brain awareness month, Blogging, Caregivers, Expectations, Grieving, Helpful Resources, Inspiration, Life After Caregiving, Marilyn's Legacy, Mom, Ruminations, Smiles

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alzheimer's & brain awareness month, alzheimers, alzheimers gratitude, caregiver grief, caregivers, dementia, gratitude

gllogo June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month in the United States, and I’m grateful to my new friends at the worldwide Network for Grateful Living for helping shine the spotlight on Alzheimer’s!

After being introduced to their site, I was inspired to write a piece about Alzheimer’s and gratitude, two things we don’t necessarily see as going hand in hand. We know this disease brings with it pain and sorrow, shattered dreams, and disappointments over lost opportunities. We mourn uniquely beautiful lives cut short, and we struggle to say goodbye to what could (and should) have been. It’s a journey none of us would choose.

However, like anything in life, perspective matters. Some days, I could easily curl up in a blanket and sob for hours about how unfair it is that I began to lose pieces of my mom before I was out of my 30’s. Even as I write these words, I feel tears well up in my eyes.

Yet Alzheimer’s also made me a more compassionate person. It opened my eyes in many ways – to life’s most simple pleasures, to the fact that my story might actually help others, and to the idea that I had talents and abilities that had gone untapped and might be valued in venues I had never considered.

sunset-over-mountains Living through the experience reminded me that my time on earth is limited and there’s no time like the present. It made me sweat the small stuff a bit less. It even made me realize I could leave behind a very comfortable 27-year career with a Fortune 100 company to work for a much smaller non-profit with a strong mission and values I believed in.

Of course, I would trade every last one of those things to have my mom back. Of course I would. But having her back in this life isn’t an option, so I the best way I can honor her is to go on and live the best life I can. The best way I can keep her spirit alive is to do what I now feel is my life’s work, which includes the recent launch of a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Marilyn’s Legacy: A World Without Alzheimer’s.

I wish I’d grasped the idea of Alzheimer’s and gratitude much earlier in our journey, but I guess that’s what growth is all about. Fortunately, with time, experience, plenty of soul searching – and an ocean of tears – it came while she was still alive. The piece I wrote for Gratefulness.org is all about what a blessing that was. I hope you’ll take few minutes to visit the site to read and share Alzheimer’s Taught Me to be Grateful.

Bookmark the site and check them out on Facebook as well. Be sure to read about Brother David and the fascinating life he led before co-founding the Network for Grateful Living. This has become one of my favorite places for daily inspiration!