Team Wells includes Ron & Diane (48) & Adam (20). Because I (Diane) am most closely associated with the disease, I will speak for our family.
My mother, Ramona, was officially diagnosed in April 2007, but she was so good at compensating that we missed almost the entire first stage. She is currently in the final stage & has no meaningful connection to her outside world, cannot speak, has no voluntary motor skills & is severely contracted (rigid). She recently broke a tooth, chewed it up & swallowed it without so much as a change in her expression. She still lives at home with my 84-yr-old father, which has taken a terrible toll on him. For over three years, my siblings and I have maintained a daily schedule of caring for my mother - an exhausting challenge to juggle with the demands of our own families & careers.
Ron & Adam have been loving, supportive & understanding, as I frequently put our needs behind those of my parents; that can get old, even in the closest of families. I love them both for this gift. Ron & my mom were buddies, and I used to tease her that I was convinced she loved him more than she did me! As high school class president, Adam gave a beautiful speech about the importance of leaving a tangible & significant legacy, because he has seen that memories alone are simply not enough. Alzheimer's is like death that keeps happening, over & over again. It lingers, and I resent it for what I interpret to be its enjoyment of our sorrow. Be done with it, already. How many times can we say, "Uncle?"
Adam announced in January 2011 that he wanted us to run the NYC marathon as a family. Ron & I responded with wide-eyed stares; none of us could be considered a serious runner. As supportive parents, of course our reply was "we're in!" - but we were secretly thinking, "are you kidding me?!" We love Adam's adventurous spirit & that he so often includes us in his plans, so....how could we say no? We began training immediately.
Learning about the options for participating in the marathon quickly made it clear to me that there was one team for us: Team R2R. It HAD to be this team, to give us a unified goal with a clear purpose, to feel like we were doing something helpful in the midst of feeling so utterly helpless. As it turns out, it has also been rewarding and revealing to see the power in setting and achieving goals - a great life lesson - and we still have four months to go!
Thank you for the opportunity to join your community, and to support your efforts to fight Alzheimer's Disease. We honor you for your dedication! See you in November!
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