Three years ago my grandmother, Mary Truchon was
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. I didn’t really know
what it was or what it would mean to me. My grandma
was always a very healthy person and very special to me, I
was her first grandchild. We had a very special
relationship.
After a little while I started noticing changes in my
grandmother. They started small like losing her train of thought but as time went on they got
larger. Instead of losing her train of thought she started having trouble speaking and even had trouble
remembering my name. My grandmother was always a very happy person but her mood has started
to change. She’s still happy sometimes but now she gets sad too. This has been very hard to get use
to. As this progressed, I knew I had to do something.
When I was six my dad and I made a lemonade stand. A father of a boy in my class had ALS and I
decided to donate money by selling lemonade and bookmarks at their walk. When my grandma was
first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, my dad went to the walk. He told me that I might want to sell my
lemonade and bookmarks in honor of my grandma. Last year was my first year selling lemonade at the
Alzheimer’s walk. One of my friend’s also has a grandmother who has Alzheimer’s so I asked her to
come to the walk with me. At the walk we raised over $60. This winter St. Michael’s College Men’s
Hockey Team had an “Alzheimer’s Awareness Night”. It was in the middle of January so it was a little
cold for lemonade, so, instead, we sold hot chocolate. That night we raised over $120!
As my grandmother’s symptoms have gotten worse, I’ve decided that I
would like to do more. This summer I learned to sew. At this year’s walk I
will not only be selling lemonade and bookmarks but I will also be selling
“homemade” purple and white coasters to raise money for Alzheimer’s
research.
No matter what terrible disease she has, my grandmother continues to be a
very special person to me and to my family. I hope that my ideas will give
kids ideas of how to get involved in bringing an end to Alzheimer’s once and
for all.
By Lilly
Age 10
South Burlington, VT