All of my family’s Disneyland memories are some of the most precious times we have ever spent together. Through the years, I have watched my children grow up enjoying the magic and believing in the power of imagination. Thinking about those times brings me happiness during tough times, and I know they will be moments I look back on fondly when my boys are grown.

I am pretty sure that these same sentiments are felt by every Disney Parks-loving parent like me. Disney memories are pieces of us and part of the fabric of our parental experience. But just imagine if those memories were taken away from you. Slowly over time. And the knowledge of who your children even are were stripped away and replaced with fear. And then the understanding of your basic functions as a human were robbed from you–turning you into a shell of a human. This is the reality of Alzheimer’s disease. It ain’t like The Notebook, folks. Not by a long shot.

My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s disease. I knew nothing about it when she was diagnosed, and assumed it just meant she would become forgetful. I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined she would become who she is now. She was a robust woman with opinions and feistiness. She had feelings and emotions. She worked with numbers in her career and enjoyed spending time with friends. Today she is a shell of a woman who cannot dress or feed herself or tend to her most basic and intimate needs. She not only has no memories left but she has no idea who anyone is–her children, grandchildren or even her husband. She can hardly speak–she mutters words every now and then. Eventually the disease will kill her but in the meantime she will continue wasting away until the day her suffering ends.

This weekend, my son and husband are walking in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event in Los Angeles. As my husband and children get older, we feel an urgency to find treatment and a cure for this horrible disease that robs those who have it with their most basic human dignities, sensibilities, cherished memories and past. 

Please consider donating whatever you can toward my son Aidan’s fundraising goal. 

He will be trick-or-treating for Alzheimer’s this year but can use your help to reach his goal. I made this image to pin onto his trick-or-treating bag. Please feel free to print out your own copy if you would like your kids to trick-or-treat for Alzheimer’s too.

Thank you for your support!