Advocacy and my thoughts.

So if you looked at the link for the cold hard facts from the last blog entry you would know that all of the other major causes of death are on the decline but Alzheimer's Disease, the sixth leading cause of death in America is up 66%. Think about that for a minute, 66%, that is definitely what most would consider an epidemic. Wouldn't you? So why aren't we doing even more to try to figure out this disease? Well the answer is probably very difficult but for many years too many people thought is was some kind of normal aging thing and it only happened to elderly people so they were able to justify keeping it on the back burner. The Alzheimer's Association has worked diligently since it's inception to lobby for more research and resources for those that suffer but it fell on deaf ears for a lot of years. Or at least wouldn't resonate to the point of getting any legislation passed at the federal level. I am proud to report that NAPA (National Alzheimer's Project Act) was passed by congress and signed in to law by President Obama this year (2011). I was part of this movement with my first trip to Washington DC so it was so gratifying to see it actually get passed. It is only a start though, but it does shine a light on what needs to be done. Getting it done now is something else but it is a wondrous start none the less. I hope to keep advocating for more and more to be done, I ask that everyone make their voices heard on this, it is really simple through the Alzheimer's Association. Just go to this page at the association and at least consider becoming an advocate. It can require as little as lending your name on a pre-written e-mail that goes to your congressional representatives. Believe me, they pay attention to large numbers of their constituents asking for the same thing. You have the power to not only not vote for them but influence those around you to not vote for them so if they are any good at what they are supposed to be doing they will pay attention. It really takes almost none of your time at the lowest commitment levels so please just do it! Thanks!