Spotlight - Hannah Ratzlaff

Each week we will be picking members to spotlight to tell their Alzheimer's story and why they are running in this year's New York City marathon. Check in each day for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

My dad, Paul Ratzlaff, is a pretty amazing guy (I might be a little biased). He is one of the hardest working people I know, inspiring and helping countless people through his work as a minister for over 35 years. During his career he spoke out against racial injustice, worked hard for marriage equality, and would always take the side of the disenfranchised, working tirelessly to do what he could to make the world a better place.

As a father, he has always been supportive, pushing me to do my best, and incredibly loving, even putting up with my rebellious teenage phase. He has always been a huge sports fan and he made time to come to almost all of my field hockey and softball games, even if I never left the bench. As you can imagine, when I discovered running and racing- he was thrilled! To this day we talk over (read- I talk at him) my races and training plans, mile by mile, and he doesn't seem to mind.

In 2010, I noticed we weren't having the same epic father-daughter talks that we used to have, in fact he was talking very little and mixing up words when he did. The whole family decided something was up and we needed to get it checked out. After batteries of tests my father was diagnosed with Fronto-Temporal Dementia. He ended up retiring early, as it was getting harder and harder for him to express his thoughts. Over 4 years later, his once endless vocabulary is now quite limited and he can't really get around anymore.

Dementia is devastating. My mom is an amazing caretaker, and works incredibly hard, but I can see the toll it takes on her. My parents pictured their retirement as a time filled with travel, and learning, and grandkids. Unfortunately it has not turned out that way for them. For me, the thing that still feels the hardest is the helplessness of it. There is nothing I can do to stop the progress of the disease. I often feel hopeless and frustrated and hurt. 

Even with all the tough stuff, I have really bright times when I realize how lucky I am to still have my dad around. He is still living at home with my mom and their apartment is only 6 long blocks from my husband and me, and we go over there a lot to just hang out or watch the Mets game. I am so thankful that he was there to walk me down the aisle and meet my beautiful niece. I am thankful that he can still laugh at my stupid jokes, enjoy homecooked meals, and listen to me talk about each and every team training run.

This is my first time fundraising for a race. It feels like a really natural fit. Running helps when I feel sad, or angry, or that life is incredibly unfair. Its amazing that by raising money with a run I can actually DO one little something to help.