By Dawn Pollock
Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. It is estimated that nearly 5 million American’s have Alzheimer’s disease. It is the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent it, cure it or even slow its progression.
Unfortunately, the elderly are not the only ones who suffer from Alzheimer’s. This is the case of my mother, Deborah Skaggs. She is one of the 4 percent of people who were diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. She was diagnosed at the age of 52. She is now 62 and by God’s grace, she is still here.
She is still fighting.
In 2011, my husband and I participated in our first Walk to End Alzheimer’s event. We had some wonderful friends and family join our team “Debbie’s Footsteps” and we walked for support of the millions of other people like my mom, their caregivers, loved ones, and those who lost the fight.
The walk made us want to do more. This year, on October 4, 2014, we hope to make that a reality by hosting “Debbie’s Footsteps 5K Run/Walk” and ” ‘A Round to Remember’ Golf Tournament.”
I would like to tell you a little bit more about my mother and the journey she has made and the journey she is taking every day.
Deborah was born on July 17, 1951. The oldest of three children, she was a tomboy who would rather climb trees then play with dolls. As a teenager, she became interested in bowling with her high school sweetheart Denny Wells, whose father owned the local bowling center. Deborah married Denny on November 15, 1969 and headed to San Diego where Denny was stationed with the Navy. She got her first job at a nursing home in Chula Vista, California. She loved working with people and taking care of others and did so for the two years she spent in San Diego. She gave birth to her only daughter, Dawn, on February 12, 1971 at the San Diego Naval Hospital.
After Dawn was born, Denny was transferred to Pensacola, Florida where Debbie found a job as a switch board operator. She worked there until Denny finished his 4 years of service and they moved back to Bucyrus in August of 1973.
After moving back to her hometown, Debbie renewed her love for bowling. She bowled a minimum of 4 nights a week to perfect her game, with her husband, as well as her mother and sister. She bowled a perfect game of 300, and also entered into the Ladies Invitational numerous times. She won the championship in 1988 and was incredibly proud of her accomplishment. After her mother’s death, she started to lose interest in bowling and eventually stopped participating. She primarily focused on work. She worked in nursing homes and enjoyed taking care of others. She took pride in everything she undertook, and strived for excellence. She rarely missed work and would always work holidays for others or work extra hours when people called in sick. She had an excellent work ethic which is why it was odd when she started having difficulties in her job around the age of 50.
She began to arrive late, and would forget to attend to her responsibilities. It wasn’t until I got a call from her employer that I found out how serious her issues were. She was getting lost on her way to work and forgetting to call for help during a life threatening situation.
I was worried because it was so out of character. I called a Neurologist to get her evaluated. At age 52, Debbie was diagnosed with Early Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. I remember listening to her answer questions about her family and herself and hearing her say she didn’t have any grandkids, which was devastating since she had two at the time. We went through all the testing and she began taking Aricept and Namenda to help with memory retention. This treatment helped some at first but it eventually plateaued. My mother moved in with me but her disease progressed quickly after her diagnosis. She lost the ability to speak within the first year. She woke up one morning and started talking to me but her words were all jumbled. Again, I was at a loss of what to do. I made appointments with Neurologists and Speech Therapists for help. Neurology ruled out a stroke and speech therapy was not even an option because she couldn’t remember the words she was given to repeat them. She lived with me for two years before she moved into an assisted living facility where she had her own “apartment.” I think she was relieved though because the noise level in my home was overwhelming to her, with my kids who were ages 5, 2, and 6 months old. As her condition worsened, the assisted living facility was no longer suitable and she entered a nursing home from that point and has remained in one for the past 7 years.
Alzheimer’s has been Debbie’s life for the last 10 years, therefore, our life also. Her family grieves for her and misses who she once was. No one should ever have to struggle to remember their name, who their daughter is, and who the person is that is staring back at them in the mirror. Imagine waking up one day and not remembering that you love the person closest to you, or how to talk, or eat, or anything. We organized this 5K and golf outing to honor Debbie and to help win the fight against this memory-stealing disease. Our hope is to help raise money for research so other people do not have to lose themselves or a loved one to Alzheimer’s.
Please join us in remembering…
A Round to Remember Golf Classic, which benefits the Alzheimer’s Association, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Golf Club of Bucyrus. The event will be a four-person best ball scramble with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost of the event is $50 per golfer.
The Miles for Memories 5K Walk/Run “In Debbie’s Footsteps” will also take place on Oct. 4 at the Golf Club of Bucyrus. Registration for that event will begin at 8 a.m. with the race starting at 9. Pre-registration before Sept. 1 is $20 per participant.
Registration for both events can be done online at www.debbiesfootsteps.org or the day of the events.
The “Debbie’s Footsteps” Evening Dinner will take place that night. Guests should arrive by 6:30 p.m. The location for the dinner has not yet been announced.