My name is Tricia Mullaney. I am a 47 year old woman
from Westfield, NJ. I have always been
active in a variety of sports, including running, tennis, paddle tennis, and
hiking. Exercise is an integral part of my life. And although I have been running throughout
my life, I just ran my first marathon in February 2012 in Death Valley with the
encouragement of my husband, Paul Hagar, who is also running with the R2R team.
Alzheimer’s disease has affected me deeply, as my
mother has been struggling with it for over 12 years now. It really has been a long, slow goodbye. It is hard for me now to remember my “other”
mom. My two children have only known
their “Gammie” with Alzheimer’s. They
have grown up watching the decline of my mother and all the sadness and
anxieties that accompany the disease – for her, and for the rest of my entire
family.
I am one of six children from an Irish Catholic
family, and we are all petrified that we will be the one in the family to
inherit the disease. Of course, humor is
key to watching a loved one struggle with Alzheimer’s; and although it might
sound gruesome, we all hope that our sister, Tara, who passed away nearly ten
years ago, was the one to get the disease, and that she took the Alzheimer’s to
the grave with her.
I am particularly concerned about myself and the
disease due to my medical history. At
age 39 I suffered a stroke caused by an undiagnosed hole in my heart. Thankfully, I was young and in excellent
health when my stroke occurred, so I made a wonderful recovery. Most people would never know that I have
suffered any damage to my brain, but I do.
I am very aware of the lingering side effects of my stroke, and am very
concerned that my stroke has put me at greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s.
I am running with the R2R team to raise awareness of
this devastating illness on both the sufferer and their loved ones. I am running to raise the awareness for
greater funding and research for Alzheimer’s.
I am running for all the caregivers around the world who show their
patience, love, empathy and care for the Alzheimer’s patients they are
escorting through their final days, months and years of life. And I am running for my mother’s caregiver,
Guerline Jean Pierre – our guardian angel, a true living saint. She has allowed
my mother to travel through these years of Alzheimer’s with dignity and
grace. And allowed my siblings and I to
live a life somewhat free of the constant worrying, anxiety and stress over the
quality of my mother’s life.
For more information please click on the link for this video: http://vimeo.com/42523131 or below
[Headlock] from Mary-Walker Rippe on Vimeo.
No comments:
Post a Comment