SPOTLIGHT: Tricia Amy

Each week we will be picking three (3) 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 or week for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

SPOTLIGHT: Tricia Amy

I got involved with the Alzheimer's Association and joined the Junior Committee in 2004. My mother, Ina Griffin Amy, had suffered from Alzheimer's and passed away in April of 2004. My reason for getting involved with the chapter at that time was really to do something in her memory. I only wish I had known about all the great support services the chapter offers while my mother was alive. We could have really benefited from them.

My mother was a truly amazing woman. All who knew her would agree. She was born in Long Island, married shortly after college (although she wanted to be a nun) and moved to Larchmont, NY when she married in the early 1950's. My mom had my 7 brothers & sisters with her first husband, Bill Griffin, before he died of a sudden massive heart attack when they were young. She suddenly found herself widowed in the early 70's with 7 children and thankfully, a lot of faith. My mom had developed a strong faith in God when she was young and to her dying day she said it carried her through everything. She was truly pure of heart. I remember she used to say that "maybe Heaven is right here."

That is how she lived her life. So....she was an avid tennis player and a few years after she was widowed, my mom met my father (who was a 35 year old bachelor) playing tennis. My dad fell head over heels in love with her (yes, and she had SEVEN children) and they married. They had me 2 years later, when my mom was 47. Yes, 47. Did i mention she was an incredible woman?? My mom developed dementia in her late 60's. Unfortunately, my father became very ill at the same time with Parkinson's and dementia. He passed away in 2002 and after his passing, my mom developed full blown Alzheimer's. I'll never forget my mom standing in our living room one afternoon, putting on her coat and purse and telling me that "she was ready for me to take her home." Being that we were home, when I asked where she meant exactly, she proceeded to tell me her childhood home. We were blessed with wonderful caregivers and to them I will always be truly grateful. I spent a lot of time with my mom as she entered final stages of Alzheimer's. She couldn't speak very well at the end, and often would get combative ( a trait she never possessed before the disease took hold) but I would get comfort out of her smile and hugs. My mom suffered a massive heart attack and died on her way to the hospital. It felt like some what of a blessing to us at the time, as she was suffering so much in the later stages.

I never, ever dreamed of running a marathon. I still can't believe I'm doing it!!! I'm running in memory of both of my parents. They loved and supported me so much and it feels great to be doing something for such a wonderful cause in their honor!

SPOTLIGHT:Coach Brian Hsia

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~ The Wonder Years, TV show.

Life is a precious moment of time, within our moments we create our own set of precious memories that we keep for our lifetime. Our friends, our family and all the acquaintances that we meet along the way, we remember and keep within our memory. Over time our memory starts to fade, but that comes with age. We rely on pictures to recollect that precious time we shared together or what we were doing at that precious time or event.

Now, imagine yourself waking up one morning to find that you do not know who your friends are, who your family members are and most importantly, who you are. These are the realities of what the Alzheimer’s disease does to a person. Usually, the disease affects elderly people, although there are more and more cases of this disease affecting the youth.

Many people will say that they run for fitness, for a goal and for stress relief. I do it for all those reasons and more. I run marathons to see the country, to experience the culture and indulge in the architecture within these cities. I take pictures of these moments to capture my journey of the 50 states across America.

I have been looking at my right side more often at the band that states, “A reason for hope.” This band means more to me this year than any other year that I have raised money for the Alzheimer’s Association.

My grandfather, the caretaker for my grandmother for the past 5 years that she had Alzheimer’s, had passed away. My family had not expected this, where all this time we had been worried about my grandmother who had been affected by the Alzheimer’s disease. Sad to say, but we had told my grandmother that her husband had passed away and her response was: “If he had to go, he had to go.” During the funeral, my grandmother had no reference or clue whose funeral she was attending.

Just recently, I visited my grandmother and my cousin’s recently married wife was there and she asked who she was. My cousin replied that it was his wife, my grandmother asked if she was married, he replied yes…and then she asked where my grandfather was…(read on)…

The disease is a horrible disease which I would never want anyone else’s family to endure.

SPOTLIGHT: Natalie Harrison

Each week we will be picking three (3) 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 or week for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

SPOTLIGHT: Natalie Harrison

Growing up my younger brother and I often looked forward to going down to Florida to visit our grandparents. But, at the age of 13, my grandparents moved from Florida to my hometown after my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As time progressed, my grandmother had a hard time remembering who we were and often seemed to be disoriented and scared.

After a few years, my grandmother required more attention and assistance and was moved into a special memory-impaired unit. This was the first time my grandparents had ever been apart for any extended amount of time since they were 17 years old. It was definitely heartbreaking to see the effects on my grandfather. He passed away a few years later. One of the hardest parts of his death was that my grandmother was unable to remember that she had even been married.

In the years that followed, my mother would spend time with my grandmother every day until she passed away in October of 2003. Watching my Mother, I have definitely learned a lot about the importance of patience, love, hope and family. I am running the NYC Marathon in honor of my grandmother’s memory and in the hope that one day we can find a cure for this disease.

SPOTLIGHT: Maritza Arroyo

Each week we will be picking three (3) 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 or week for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

SPOTLIGHT: Maritza Arroyo

My Mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer in her early 60’s. This was devastating to my family and me. I could not understand it. My mami the most generous and heart warming person in my life was being taken from me. It was very painful to see my mother exhibit states of confusion and forgetfulness from one moment to the next and my mami trying very hard not to show it. She would mask her forgetfulness by singing her favorite childhood songs. So, every time I visit my mom I sing with her. She loves it! Her eyes light up, she shakes her shoulders, moves her hips, and she does a little dance. I love that the most because for that brief moment I know my mom is happy. My father is suffering the most. I can see the sadness in my dear father’s eyes has he watches my mother become progressively worse with each passing day. Seeing this is heartbreaking.

I participated in last years memory walk with my mom and dad. I was so inspired by the wonderful people that walked and the fabulous volunteers that made us feel so welcomed. I felt as though I was home. People who understood my family’s plight were around me united as one. It was on that day, I thought it be great if the ALZ organization ran as a charity in the NYC marathon. I said to myself, I would definitely run it. I sent an email inquiring about the charity’s participation in this year’s marathon and my willingness to run. Much to my surprise, I got an email and I made the cut!

Training for the NYC Marathon has already provided a positive impact, my dad’s eyes light up! He is as excited for me as I am. The training allows me to channel my emotions from my mom to the race itself.

I am running to bring awareness to the public but mostly as a therapeutic way of handling, the devastating affects this disease. I am running in honor of my mother and father. I am grateful to be their daughter and I humbled by the generosity and support from family and friends.

SPOTLIGHT: Andrew Kent

Each week we will be picking three (3) 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 or week for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

SPOTLIGHT: Andrew Kent

After I was not selected for the NYC Marathon this year, I casually perused the charity websites to see if there were any groups that were a fit. While it became clear that I connected with Run2Remember because my grandfather had suffered from dementia prior to his passing a year ago, I was unsure of whether I would have the ability to raise money, train, and focus on day-to-day life at once.

A few days later, I was struggling through a long run. As I ran out of energy, I thought about the Alzheimer’s Association and how it would feel if I ran the marathon in remembrance of my grandfather. I felt overwhelmed and pushed onward. It was evident that I needed to do this.

My grandfather, Dr. Geoffrey Kent, was a professor of pathology, who began his career in the Netherlands and England during World War II. In May 1940 he helped 60 Jewish children escape Amsterdam through the Kindertransport, mere hours before the Nazis invaded the city.

Later that year, he helped care for the wounded during the Manchester Blitz. He eventually brought his family to the U.S. and had a successful career and family life. A clear intellectual, he pushed my educational growth every time I saw him. His influence led me to my current work in public health.

Running the NYC Marathon is the very least I could do for someone who gave so much to me and my family. I will think of him in every step of the 26.2 miles I run.

SPOTLIGHT: Pat Ostrander

Each week we will be picking three (3) 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 or week for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

SPOTLIGHT: Pat Ostrander

When people ask why I am running a marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association, I usually explain my family history and attempt some sort of answer involving statistics and an acknowledgement of how crazy I must be to consider running that far. But what I should really say is that I simply hate Alzheimer’s. I think of it as a blatant and unremorseful thief that has already stolen from me and may return again to show me that it can steal from anyone at any time. I know that running won’t allow me to catch this particular thief but I like to imagine that I am at least tailing it enough to make it nervous.

I don’t remember my great-grandmother because she was in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer’s from before I was born. But I’m still angry that Alzheimer’s stole my grandmother in 2007. She had a green thumb and was a great cook. Unfortunately

for my cousins who hated them, my grandmother grew beets in her garden and cooked them just for me because I loved them. She also made my favorite molasses cookies whenever I would visit.

Towards the beginning of her illness, she made me a batch of those molasses cookies and gave me a box full to take back to college with me. Then she forgot that she had given them to me and gave me another box. It was a bittersweet moment. I loved those cookies and was grateful for their abundance but I knew she would likely never be able to make them again.

I’m running because I don’t know what else to do, because I don’t want Alzheimer’s to steal anyone else from me, and because I don’t want any other grandchildren to have to miss out on any of grandma’s cookies.

Follow Pat's Blog HERE!

SPOTLIGHT:Laura Charecky

Each week we will be picking three (3) 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 or week for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

SPOTLIGHT: Laura Charecky

I'm running for my great grandmother and my husband's grandfather. I was young when my great grandmother was struggling with Alzheimer's and she lived in Illinois.

We would visit a couple of times a year. I remember visiting her once and we had so much fun playing and reading stories. The next time we visited her, she didn't remember me and I could not understand why. How come we had so much fun together the last time I saw her and now she could not even remember my name? I was extremely distraught by this as a small child. Even though I was small I can remember the look on her face when I ran into her room at the nursing home... complete confusion.

I was training for last year's marathon when I found out I was pregnant with my 3 month old son Alexander. I did not run last year, so I wanted to make this run extra special by raising money for Alzheimer's research so that hopefully Alexander will never have to see that look of confusion on any of his loved ones.