Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Spotlight: Kirsten (Kiri) Spillane

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)


After running the NYC marathon in 2013, I knew I had to run it again the following year.  I ran in 2013 for completely selfish reasons.  To check it off my bucket list and hopefully qualify for Boston (which i did).  I knew the following year I would want to run it unselfishly for someone else.  Choosing a charity to run for in 2014 was easy.  My mother, Carol, suffered from Frontotemporal dementia and started showing signs when she was just 48.  I knew I had to run for her and find a way to help families dealing with dementia at an early age.  

My mom’s dementia was difficult to diagnose because she was young and in 1998 there were less services and resources then there are now.  Because it was an earlier onset dementia it progressed very quickly.  Doctors didn’t know how to help us.  It affected us financially, as well as emotionally.  After just 3 years my mother could no longer remain at home because she was a danger to herself.  She would have delusions, become violent, and could no longer participate in activities of daily living.  It was heart wrenching to have to place her in a locked ward but there were not many other options.  She died at 53.

I am hoping by running the marathon with the Athletes to End Alzheimer’s team, I can bring awareness to the major difficulties facing patients and caregivers when dementia unfolds in a younger person.  

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