Walking to Raise Awareness
Each October the Mesulam Center sponsors a team to support the Walk to End Alzheimer’s hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago. Team members assemble near Soldier Field, speakers share their stories from a grand stage, and a sea of purple shirts walk along Lake Michigan to remember all those we have lost to dementia and to support research endeavors.
During a pandemic, this year’s Walk looked a little different, but still 44 members of the Mesulam Center community joined the team to raise awareness and support for dementia research and care.
Team captain and senior research technologist Callie Spencer organized the group and hosted a virtual rally to bring the spirit of the walk alive. Two research participants Thomas Doyle and Elizabeth Loewe shared their stories in the Zoom meeting and faculty member Maggie Flanagan, MD, shared her passion for neuropathological research and the loss of her father to Alzheimer’s.
When Flanagan was in medical school, her father was progressing in his dementia diagnosis. In her pharmacology courses, she was disappointed to learn that there were few options to aid with dementia. “So here I am now,” she told the rally participants, “trying to find cures that will work to treat people like my dad.”
After Flanagan finished her neuropathology fellowship at Stanford University, her mother was diagnosed with dementia, as well. Flanagan’s mother is now in a longterm care facility, but with the pandemic she hasn’t been able to visit her. “I’m walking for my mother, and in memory of my dad, and for everyone affected by dementia.”
Spencer said she was impressed with the turnout for this year’s virtual walk. “Although this year felt very different, I still felt connected to my team through the virtual Mesulam Center Rally and was inspired by all of the all those who continued to passionately participate in the 2020 ALZ Walk!"
Mesulam Center social worker Debbie Dyslin, LCSW, walked with her dog, Tanner in her neighborhood. “On our walk, we ran into a neighbor (and her dog) who has participated in several Walks,” Dyslin said. “Both her dad’s parents had dementia – one had Parkinson’s and the other had Alzheimer’s. It was a nice conversation to have.”
It is estimated that more than five million individuals are living with dementia in the United States. The Mesulam Center is committed to providing quality care and support for individuals living with dementia and their families. The scientists at the Center are engaged in nationally funded research projects through the National Institute on Aging, and are especially interested in atypical types of dementia including primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and FTD (frontotemporal degeneration).