My grandma passed away last night after suffering from Alzheimer’s for the last four years. She was president of the Washington Poet’s Association at one time and it was hard for us to see her lose the words that she was once able to put together so gracefully.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that exacts a toll on family members and society at large. It slowly robs people of their independence and curing it would allow the people who face living through it to remain productive longer.

In addition to being an accomplished poet my grandma was a Vietnam War protester, an amateur genealogist, a teacher, and a typist at Boeing. My grandpa also worked at Boeing, and he also suffered from Alzheimer’s before passing away in 1992. I miss them both a lot, and with Alzheimer’s you start to miss people while they’re still alive.

My mom has taken the opportunity to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association via her business, My Garden Nursery. You can see what they’re doing for Alzheimer’s. I want to accomplish the same thing with my trip and so I’m currently looking at fundraising opportunities as well.

Thank you to everyone who was there to talk to earlier, it meant a lot.