
Por qué viajo: My dad loved to ride his bike. When he was a kid the bike was freedom, the way to see friends and get around town. In college he commuted by bike (he went to Tufts which he was always ready to inform you). When I was young there were family bike trips down in Cape Cod. In 2003, at the age of 60 he rode over 400 miles from New York to Boston to raise money for AIDS. As he got older he mostly rode around town running easy errands like picking up the challah for Friday night dinner or just for some exercise (riding up big hills) - even in the dead of winter.
He was the dependable layer of my foundation, the person I knew that loved me without reservation and would be there whenever I needed him. Even after being struck with Alzheimer, he never fully lost the humbleness and humility that made him such a wonderful person. In the end, as he lost the ability to use the right side of his body, to walk, to stand up, to eat and do his bodily functions on his own, as he lost the ability to speak clearly, he was constantly thanking the nurses, aides, and doctors who cared for him. As they were leaving the room, he would call out, ‘hold on – one more thing, thank you, yasha koach, you are doing a great job’ and tell them that he was aware of how hard it is for them to do what they do (and because he had Alzheimer’s, he would stop them five more times to tell them the exact same thing). Even as his memory left him and his body betrayed him, his amazing spirit continued to flow through him like a strong current, emerging and animating him and everyone around him.
Lamentablemente, justo después del Año Nuevo, mi padre murió. Robado por Alzheimer's de años de diversión con sus nietos a quienes adoraba. Privado de tiempo con su esposa disfrutando de los placeres simples de la vida como "quedarse dormido de la mano de alguien especial". Privado de seguir montando en bicicleta. Privado de sus recuerdos. Para aquellos que no han vivido con un ser querido Alzheimer, it is different than other diseases in that Alzheimer's afflicts the whole family and leaves you grieving for years. For in this disease, while the body of the person you love is still 'alive', the person that they were - for me a sweet funny, gentle man with a lot of energy and laughter - slowly fades in front of your eyes.
Through this ride, I am trying to give hope to those that have not been affected by this disease yet. Today there are nearly 7 million people with Alzheimer's Sólo en los EE. UU., y dada la rápida edad de la población, se espera que esta cifra aumente más del doble en las próximas décadas. Con su ayuda, podemos apoyar la investigación para determinar la causa de Alzheimer's y desarrollar medicamentos que puedan evitar que la gente sufra. Por favor, ayúdenme a mantener vivo el espíritu de mi padre, un hombre que dedicó su vida, su carrera y su jubilación a ayudar a la gente, brindando esperanza a quienes enfrentan esta enfermedad. Por favor, ayúdenme a defender a mi padre... cada dólar hace que las ruedas giren y la cura llegue más rápido.