As many of you already know, my wife, Irene, had been diagnosed with dementia, the most common form of which is Alzheimer’s, in December 2002. As expected with this condition, there continues to be some deterioration, but this past year, like most recent years, has been pretty good. The decrease in Irene’s condition has, so far, not prevented us from doing our usual amount of traveling and we continue to try to socialize with friends and relatives, and participate in Sid’s bus and rail groups, as much as we can. We also plan to continue to participate in the Memory Walk this year.
The Greater New Jersey Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association holds Memory Walk’s during the month of October to raise money to help provide support and assistance to New Jersey individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. This is part of the national Memory Walk, the nation’s number one fund-raiser to help those battling Alzheimer’s. As we have in recent years, Irene and I are planning to participate in the Northern Regional Memory Walk on Sunday, October 26, 2008, in Paramus, NJ. We are planning to walk the approximately three mile route that morning and ask you to sponsor us in the Walk by making a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association. Please help us by contributing $5, $10, or whatever lesser or greater amount you may desire. We’d like to receive your check, made payable to “Alzheimer’s Association,” by mail on or before October 18th. Alternatively, you may give it to us at aN.Y. Division meeting or event. If you will be using mail, please mail your check to:
Irene and Sid Keyles
2194 Kent Court
Mahwah, NJ 07430-3822
You also have the option of making your supporting contribution online at www.alznj.org. Click on “Memory Walk 2008” in the list in the left margin and then hit the “register online” link to get to the Memory Walk 2008 home page. Once there, click on “find a walker” near the top of the page. Use “Participant Search” to locate “Irene Keyles,” after which you can make an online or offline donation in Irene’s name, which will be credited to Irene’s Team. If you do not want to be a sponsor, that will, of course, be OK. We welcome your moral support.
We are making a special effort this year to encourage some of you to walk with us on October 26th, and have registered “Irene’s Team” for that purpose. “Irene’s Team” had close to 15 walkers last year and we would like to see more of you in 2008. If you are interested in walking with us that morning, please let us know as soon as possible.
We hope we can count on you as a sponsor. Thank you. — Sid