[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Pages 31720-31721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MIAMI-DADE COUNTY MEMORY WALK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the success of 
the Miami-Dade Memory Walk sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association.
  This event called on volunteers of all ages to be champions in the 
fight against the terrible disease of Alzheimer's, which impacts more 
than 5 million Americans and their families. Over 2,200 people 
participated in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk in my home 
county of Miami-Dade, and their efforts raised over $130,000 for 
research into a cure.
  I was encouraged by the wonderful outpouring of support and 
participation from our community in South Florida. I know from 
countless personal stories, as well as from my own family, just how 
devastating this disease of Alzheimer's is.
  My mom, Amanda Ros, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's over a year ago. 
While I am blessed to have tremendous family support during this 
difficult time for her, I recognize how important it is to have 
organizations,

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such as the Alzheimer's Association, that can step in and provide 
families with guidance on how to care for their loved one.
  Tony Friguls is another individual who knows this terrible disease 
all too well. He participated in the Memory Walk in support of his wife 
of 37 years, Maria, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 4 years ago at 
the age of 55. Since that day, her life, Tony's life and the lives of 
their children, grandchildren and, indeed, their entire family, has 
never been the same. It has changed forever.
  For Tony and his wife, there was no more hope to reach retirement, to 
travel, to enjoy life. Instead, they were both forced to retire from 
their jobs in order to cope with the new daily challenges of 
Alzheimer's. Determined to help his wife, Tony made a decision to help 
raise community awareness for this disease. His team for the 
Alzheimer's Memory Walk, Baba's Bunch, included over 400 members. He is 
also involved in an essay-writing contest in public schools to raise 
student awareness about Alzheimer's.
  Today, Tony's wife is 59 years old. She can hardly speak. She cannot 
even sign her own name, and she is not who she used to be.
  He continues the fight against Alzheimer's in honor of his wife and 
all of those who suffer and cope with this terrible disease. 
Unfortunately, as we all know, Alzheimer's has no survivors. It 
destroys brain cells. It causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and 
loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person's 
identity, a person's ability to connect with others, to think, to eat, 
to talk, to walk, to find your way home. There is no treatment, no 
cure, no way to stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
  This disease is widespread and growing. Every 70 seconds, Madam 
Speaker, someone new develops Alzheimer's, and it is not only the 
person diagnosed that is impacted, but also their family members. One 
in eight people aged 65 and older has Alzheimer's, an even higher 
number of those aged 85 and older, and 87 percent of that time it is 
the family members who are the primary caregivers.
  The emotional stress of care giving is so high, and about one-third 
of caregivers develop symptoms of depression. Care giving also takes a 
financial toll, with many individuals having to quit work, reduce their 
work hours, or take time off because of their responsibilities.
  Madam Speaker, we must continue the fight against this devastating 
disease before it claims more lives, more lives of our mothers, our 
fathers, our sisters, our brothers and our spouses. I again encourage 
all in our community to show solidarity in the fight we must win 
against Alzheimer's.

                          ____________________