WHAT: The Alzheimer’s Association invites the public to a special Pep Rally for the 2025 Walk to End Alzheimer’s® Jacksonville.
This event will offer attendees a preview of this year’s Walk, an opportunity to learn how to get involved, and the chance to connect with others in the fight to end Alzheimer’s. There will be food, fun, raffle prizes, fundraising ideas and more.
WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
WHERE: Mellow Mushroom, 9734 Deer Lake Ct., Jacksonville WHY: The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. More than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, including over 580,000 Floridians.
Events like this help fund vital resources and research for families affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
This event will offer attendees a preview of this year’s Walk, an opportunity to learn how to get involved, and the chance to connect with others in the fight to end Alzheimer’s. There will be food, fun, raffle prizes, fundraising ideas and more.
WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
WHERE: Mellow Mushroom, 9734 Deer Lake Ct., Jacksonville WHY: The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. More than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, including over 580,000 Floridians.
Events like this help fund vital resources and research for families affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to community viewpoints as Shawnee feeling blessed and highly favored.
On this Sunday morning, we are empowering our community shining
a light on Alzheimer's. We have a very big Walk
to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville PEP rally coming up and today
I have Damian May with the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Good morning, Damien,
(00:23):
how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good morning? I am great? How are you You know?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
I can't complain. I am here to help the community
understand a disease that has a lot of questions. So Damon,
if you would please introduce yourself tell us why you
got involved in Walk to End Alzheimer's.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Absolutely hy Damien May.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I have been working with the Alzheimer's Association here in
Central and North Florida for geez, well over ten years.
I will say myself. I'm actually a pharmacist and the
health economist, and I got involved in Alzheimer's for a
pretty unique reason that I in my profession really take
(01:03):
an economic impact, which is everything from the cost of
care to the actual impact on a community. And when
I've learned about Alzheimer's style, the Alzheimer's Association, and all
that we are doing can really pursue a cure for
Alzheimer's disease. It was as noble a cause as I
(01:23):
could get involved in. First and foremost, there is a
tremendous human cost to Alzheimer's. I think that, you know,
people certainly understand, but behind that there is also a
tremendous economic impact everything from directly what do hope that
you know, what does healthcare cost in the United States too?
What is Alzheimer's Association's impact on all of those costs?
(01:46):
And let's just say it is tremendously expensive. So in
doing such, I've involved myself with the association because not
only is it important that we do everything we can
to support caregivers, families, patients, everyone who's being directly touched
by this, but also it's very important to make sure.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
That we here in.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
The United States we have a system that can actually
help accelerate the care, accelerate connecting patients with therapies, and
then ultimately do all that research and invest the resources
necessary in pursuing a cure. And the good news is
that in the past decade or so, we have actually
(02:28):
seen a lot of advances towards that goal of curing Alzheimer's.
There's still a lot of work to do, but I
think we are all very fortunate to be in an
age of virgeting science in Alzheimer's disease, and I'm very
foolish that we're going to see the cure in my lifetime.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I am so excited that we're able to talk today, Damien,
because Alzheimer's affects family deeply as well as a community.
How does this disease impact the Jacksonville community. I understand
that it's worldwide, but.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Locally, yeah, so great question. I mean, not surprisingly, you know, Florida,
with all of our retirees, we do have a tremendously
large population of patients with Alzheimer's disease. So in Florida
we're actually the second largest number of people in the
US with over five hundred and eighty thousand patients with Alzheimer's.
(03:22):
I mean, in Duval County alone, approximately twelve percent of
patients over sixty five are living with Alzheimer's eight if
you do the math, that's more than seventeen thousand people. Now,
that is a tremendous impact on our community. Many of
us unfortunately either know very directly or no people that
(03:44):
have been touched by this terrible illness. And so from
that perspective, you know in Jacksonville's not unique. I mean Miami, Orlando, Tampa,
we all have these same issues here in Florida. But
what's very important is that we all come together and
leverage the power we have as communities of Jacksonville and
(04:05):
these other areas in Florida to really bring strengthen numbers.
And the Alzheimer's Association is really kind of the powerful
force behind orchestrating and coalescing all of this interest and
desire to do something positive to impact Alzheimer's disease in
our community.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Now, if you would, Damien, Alzheimer's is prevalent here in Florida,
prevalent in life family members that are taking care of
that person. What is the walk to end Alzheimer's. How
can this family member get involved so that they can
be a part of the fight.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I think that is the most important. The most important
thing is really activating people in our community. I mean,
when you talk about in general, there is obviously patients
with Alzheimer's.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
But the broader view is impact of people.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So Obviously, not only are people working full time jobs,
but people are caregivers.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
We know that the people six out.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Of ten caregivers, we're working essentially full time in addition
to what is a full time responsibility to caregive for
one of our loved ones. I think certainly it has
tremendous impact of whether it's patients or people retiring early
because of the impacts for this leaving the workforce, whether
it's needing time off or buikly just impacting your day
(05:30):
to day ability to even do your day job. So
that is a big piece of this. And you know,
at the same time, you know, those of us who
are of a certain age, not only do we may
possibly have, you know, potentially parents that are in that demographic,
but at the same time we're raising families of our own,
So there's all kinds of competing pressures. I think the
(05:50):
first and foremost thing I would like to say to
any caregiver out there is is.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You are not alone.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
There are a lot of us who really care so
much about doing what we can to support our community.
And that's one of the reasons why accessing the community
that is the Alzheimer's Association can be such a tremendously
positive thing for any family, caregiver or loved one first
(06:19):
and foremost to know you're not alone. But secondly, very importantly,
there is a tremendous number of resources so that you
don't have to answer every question alone. The good thing
about the folks who know are whether you're there, your
professional staff at the Alzheimer's Association, or just your pears
in the community that have are in a similar situation
(06:41):
as you.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
The closer and the.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
More you get involved in the Alzheimer's Association, the more
you have access to the support, the resources, the tools,
the things you need to really help manage your life
and understand that there is a community in care around you.
Now and you kind of mentioned it is one of
(07:02):
the biggest invests and frankly most fund ways to really
kind of diet your toe into how do I get
involved with the Alzheimer's Association is there is a tremendous
event that goes on all across the country called the
Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's, which is the largest
event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care support
(07:25):
research programs. Now, what is so beautiful about this I've
been to a number of these, is is that you
me the absolute cross section of.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
The community you live in.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Because what it shows you very quickly is there is
no one who is untouchable in a community when it
comes to Alzheimer's. Interestingly, you know, when we talk about
Alzheimer's in general, there's a lot of great a great
warmth in the color we pick purple. What do you
think about purple? Purple is regal. Purple is something that
(07:59):
is generally well accepted across even when we've talked in
the political circles, we we say red plus blue equals purple.
Wishous true, no one is immune. Everybody somewhere, if you
talk to them long enough, they have a story. And
all of these people come to this wonderful event.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Now envision this.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
You've got a large number of people across your community
coalesced to do this wonderful walk through your community to
raise awareness. Not only do we all show up in
are either our purple shirts or our team shirts. We
have a number of corporate groups locally that come out
and they may show up in whether it's their corporate
brand or their you know, their community, or their neighborhood,
(08:42):
or they may just you know, have a team rallied
around these specific persons. So it's a really neat betting butt.
There's a lot of simplism too. Everyone walk grabs the
flower when they get there, and this is kind of
the garden that is pursuing this cure. Really cool about
it is everybody has a different color flower, which is
(09:04):
really interesting, which means each flower actually means something. So
if you have a blue flower, that means you're representing
someone who is living with Alzheimer's or another dementia, so
you're there on their behalf, here there to support them
and to kind of raise them to this community. Purple
(09:25):
is a very pointing color because it's unfortunately that signifies
the folks that have lost someone to the disease. But
also those are the people that you know, Those are
the people you want to know and you want to
let them know that you're there for them, We are
here for you. Yellow is someone who is currently undergoing
supporting or caring for a person with Alzheimer's, and there
(09:49):
is so much yellow out there that you look and
you talk to people and you learn their stories, you
learn their struggles. But again it's a community taking care
of the community. And then finally, and this is the
color flower that I actually carry with me, which is
an orange flower. And what that really means is these
are people, for whatever reason, they believe that it is very,
(10:10):
very important to live into the Association's vision of a
world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia. I'll say it's
the healthcare professional. I carry that orange flower very proudly
because what I do in my day job is is
I work to drive science forwards so that we can
(10:31):
get to a place where we see this cure. And
then there is one color, a very important color of
flower that we are reserving, and this is the big hope,
and that color flowers, the life flower, is going to
be for the first patient that is cured of Alzheimer's disease.
And we are going to get to a world where
(10:53):
we come to these walks, whether it's in Jacksonville or
somewhere else where, maybe we see multiple life.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Flowers in year.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Over a year, the white flowers grow, and that means
that our ability to cure and end Alzheimer's is that
we've made it to that place. Now I look forward
to that moment I know that I as well as most,
if not all, others, will not have a dry eye
at the entire race when we see that live into fruition.
(11:20):
But again, it is a beautiful thing to see, be
a part of, feel, take with you and really just
sort of understand and connect with the pain the joy.
I love the support of the community that we live in,
and I will say that one of the best parts
is that we can all involve ourselves however we would
(11:42):
like to show up however we would like to, and
just being there is just the start of the journey.
We don't ask anything of people other than to be
present and really soak yourself into the symbolism of this
wonderful event. Now this all sounds great, I would say
there is a ton more information about this, and I
(12:04):
would really encourage any of you to just, you know,
take a few minutes and go out to the Alzheimer's
Association website. So that is als dot org Forward Slash Walk,
and that particular part of the website talks to all
of the stories about the walk to Alzheimer's. But then
(12:25):
there's also a very specific Jacksonville page which is al
dot org Forward Flash Jacksonville walk all one word uh
and and that's actually where you can register a team,
learn how to pull a team together, learn all of
the all those things that are going to be associated with.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
This event, which you know.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And we're coming right into the season with kicking off
this next couple of months where we'll really be focused
on that walk the first weekend in November.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Speaking is Damien May, board member of the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Damien,
a lot of information today. Your work is very important, Damien.
Quick question, is Alzheimer's hereditary? What would a family member
do that is experiencing or taking care of a family member?
Is it hereditary?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
So I think that one of the most important things
anyone can do is certainly making sure they know their
family history and give your your family doctor a complete
family history. They're going to want to understand if that
is in your family. Now, there is a lot of
(13:38):
science out about Alzheimer's and there are some indications certainly
that there is a genetic component of this, and we
have seen through generations that if you have someone with
Alzheimer's in your family, you may be essentially more predisposed
to Alzheimer's. However, that does not mean you're going to
(14:00):
necessarily get Alzheimer's suite. So most importantly is a full
family history, because now what we're starting to see emerge
as well from the science perspective, there's lots of fantastic
science about some of the types of precursors that maybe
markers that increase someone's risk. Maybe there are some therapies
(14:22):
even emerging to start to preemptively treat patients, you know,
earlier on than we actually might have known before. As
we continue to get these new therapies and we continue
to get tests and we identify certain markers, certain triggers,
that we can be in a much better position to
(14:43):
do something about the potent, whether it's increased risk of Alzheimer's,
what have you. So again, I think one of the
most important things to do is is just really make
sure that not only that you're having a very open
dialogue with your you're a family position as well as
if you do have some of those risk factors or
(15:05):
some family history, there are strategies when you are a doctor,
or whether it be connecting with a specialist or doing
some typxogenetic markers, there's some things that you can do
to sort of put yourself in the best position to
preemptively or reduce some risk potentially as developing Alzheimer's. I
(15:27):
wish we had the whole solution right now, like we
do unfortunately some other disease states. However, I will say
even in the ten to fifteen years I've been doing this,
the science has advanced so rapidly that it just feels
like we're even closer to the brain of even more
breakthroughs in the space. And I would just kind of
(15:48):
watch the space, and again, I think the Alzheimer's Association
is a really great resource to not just space current
on some of the quote unquote science, but more so
the practice things to do. When we learn something new
about Alzheimer's, there's going to be very practical questions or
inquiries that maybe the Alzheimer's Association can kind of help
(16:10):
you all understand that. Again, there is a lot more
known about Alzheimer's now, and there's a lot more health
potentially for you and your loved one.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
A call to action Community Shawnee speaking to Damien May,
board member for the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville get ready for
the Walk to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville kick off. It is
a prep rally coming this Wednesday, and you can find
out the information on our website and of course be
sure to join this fight against Alzheimer's. Damien, anything else
(16:42):
you'd like to share with the community about Alzheimer's at
this time, all I'd have.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
To say is that you know this was very personal
to me is We're all busy. We all have a
lot going on in our lives, and I was introduced
into the opportunity to work with the Alzheimer's Associate a
long time ago, and it has become an absolute labor
of love for me. I look forward to meeting every caregiver,
(17:08):
every patient, every loved one that is willing to share
a story.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
All you can do.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Is become richer as a human being and weren't connected
to your community. If you find a way to incorporate
yourself here. I will say, there's no event out there
quite like the lockdown in Alzheimer's. It is something that
is a tremendous joy to me and my family's life,
and we look forward to it every year. And I
really hope that many many of you I'll have the
(17:36):
opportunity to meet you here at the Jacksonville end of
black Alpheniber's disease here this November. I saw a statistic,
you know, a good few years ago, and I don't
know how it's changed, but essentially I can't fount of
this change much. But if you look at the top
ten diseases in this country in terms of how much
(17:57):
money you spend on the care of people with those diseases,
Alzheimer's ranked like a number six on this particular list
when I saw it. And the interesting thing about it
was is not only was it the sixth most costibly
things that could happen, is that it was also the
one disease that was a negative prognostic indicator for all
(18:20):
the other nine diseases in.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
The top ten.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yet it was so horrifically under resource at the time.
Now the good news is we're up to multi billion
dollars of research allocated DNIEAS, which is one of the
reasons we've started to see some therapeutic innovation in Alzheimer's.
So we're not where we need to be, but we
are a long ways away from where we were a
decade and a half ago, and I hope a decade
(18:44):
and a half from now we are like years away
from where we are today.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Alzheimer's I understand, and dementia, it is a disease of
the unknown, but we are going to get there with
the cure.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
I'm sure, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
It's terrifying and people feel like they're in the dark.
We need to shine the light on it and by
doing that.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
It's going to get us to that life.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And I can't wait for that day, Amien.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
I appreciate your time today. I appreciate the work that
you do. I believe that we can and Alzheimer's and
I am in the beility system that we have a
community that will rally against it or around it. So
thank you so much for your time today and allowing
us to understand your drive, your why and what we
can do as a community. So we appreciate you. Do
(19:30):
not stop that, and if we hear it, iHeart could
beat of any any assistance. Please feel free to reach out.
It is very dear and near to many of the
people that work here as well, So thank you for
your time.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Thank you so very much for hosting this very very
important conversation, and I hope to see you folks from
my heart and all these folks who listen to your
broadcast at the walkdo in Zelzheimer. So thank you so
much for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
This is a fi that we all don't understand, but
we have loved ones that we care about and we
want them to be here as long as they can.
So it's a call to action. Damien, we are here,
I will be there, and of course community be sure
to rally around this and rally around your loved ones
to make sure there is a stop to this Alzheimer's
(20:21):
and a cure as well. Thank you, Damien.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
It's been a pleasure chatting with you here today. And
again I thank you, and I think.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I heard the radio for really being a wonderful partner
to us, and you have been for a long time,
so it's not lost upon as how important you are
in helping us to get.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
The word out. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
And yes, Damien, it is a beautiful thing when the
community can come together and support and rally behind a cause.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Well, yeah, and that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
And what I have seen that has been beautiful over
the decade and a half I've been doing this is
where people used to be very sky and reserve, whether
it was because of their own personal trauma, or like
a shame compone into it, like you know, all my
people who love me are going to go away from
me because they don't know what to do and.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
What to say.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
And more we put this out and the open the
more of the community and each of us in it
have been able to embrace one another. And it's just
a great thing to see. And you know, every time
I have navich, you know, you see people and there
they dress up and everybody wants to talk. There's us,
there's spears, and it's just like, this is why I
love this community so much. It's just indicative and you
(21:28):
see a slice of that life that walked into Alzheimer's event.
I've worked with a lot of caregivers over time. We
go talk to politicians, We've gone to d C and
people are just like, oh my god, I'm going to
go talk to a senator this and that, and I'm like,
you tell your story. You're going to have me eaten
out of the plump of your hands by the end
of it. And we've seen senators cry because you touched
(21:49):
the nerve because they have an Alzheimer's to someone with
alz members of their family. So again, it's just one
of those things that is universally relatable, and if you
can care of that experience with others, you know, it
can take what is a super painful thing and purt
it into something beautiful.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
The energy around taking care of a parent or taking
care of somebody who's battling Alzheimer's that caregiver. With this
Walk to End Alzheimer's, the resources will be there, but
it will also enable us as people to understand that
there is a community caring about you, that you can
address it, that there is resources people who want to
(22:32):
actually listen and understand.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Absolutely, and I mean and normalizing a lot of the
emotion that people have around their situation, whether they're a patient,
whether they're a caregiver. And a lot of times people
think those things are very unique to them and they
feel bad about it. But then when they open up
and talk and people throw their arms around them and say.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
You know much, I know exactly how you feel.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
That's exactly you know. Whether you know on one given
day I'm sad, another day I'm angry. There's all kinds
of emotion out there, and they're all, Okay, it's tough,
this is a nemesis, and we're all battling this scourge
of Alzheimer's disease. Don't think you need to take them
on by yourself or you know, we are all unified
against it and we are strength to numbers that we
(23:20):
are going to be successful.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You know, success always happens in numbers. And you said
the word damien a surge as we get older. The
generations are getting older, and we have to understand we
are getting older and we have to address some things
even if we don't want to.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Yeah, it's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I will say from the point standpoint of a health economist.
You know, all we hear about is this healthcare is expensive.
It's getting more expensive, patients are getting older.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
This, that, and the other things.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
And if we don't do the right things now, it's
a whole lot more expensive to deal with.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
This later, not to mention the more important.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Issue of the tremendous human costs to this whole thing.
But you know, I will come at it from the
economic side, and it says, how can we better create
systems of care so that people can find what they
need when they need it, how they need it, in
a place where they need it. You know, as opposed
to creating this whole system of you know, hoops and
(24:20):
complexity that make it almost like the second part of
the terrible thing is not just getting the diagnosis, but
it's trying to figure out how to maneuver it through
the system to actually get you get the care you need.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
And that is a.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Terrible aspect of healthcare in the United States. But again,
one of the one of the things that me and
a number of healthcare professionals who have aligned ourselves of
the Alzheimer's Association is is we at least we kind
of understand the madness of it from the inside out.
So if we can't provide any advice, insight, guidance to
(24:56):
the association and all of its constituents, then maybe do
we just make that that you know, pursuit of care
just a little bit easier. It's never going to be
totally easy, but you know, if we can start demystifying
some of these systems barriers, then we can just deal
with the disease and the direct impact of it. So
(25:17):
it's something I have dedicated my career to and until
I you know, until I ride off into the sunset,
I intend to stay very, very involved in this. At
the end of the day. It is about connecting anyone
to the care they need. I'm just happening to focus
on else members because of the huge nature and scope
(25:39):
of this beast at this point in time.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Community. Johnnie speaking to Damien May, board member with the
Alzheimer's Association of Jacksonville, understanding that this disease has many components.
You said something about a pursuit, and we are in
a pursuit to that care, that or and of course
I believe that we will find that cure. You said it,
(26:04):
and I believe it, so we will stand on it. Community,
be sure to get to our website. We have the
Walk to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville kickoff this Wednesday coming and
be sure to empower the community in numbers, understanding that
we are here to empower our community and encourage everyone
(26:25):
battling dealing with Alzheimer's to talk about it, to be
about it. But let's walk and be on sites on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
I was just going to say, and Wednesday being almost
like this overt kind of kickoff to the seats. I know, Brandon,
it's always the season to do something about Alzheimer's, but
this wonderful adventure this Wednesday that you reference, which is
you know, really sort of this kickoff which is going
to happen at Mellow Mushrooms. Dear leg we're here in
(26:59):
Jackson though from four thirty to six thirty PM. Not
only is it a great cause and an important thing
that's happening, is also a heck of a lot of
fun and you will run into some you know, dynamite
people with beautiful stories about themselves, their loved ones and
(27:19):
things they've done with the association over time. So you know,
don't be bashful about it. Anytime a new face the scene.
All it does is create more joy because it's just
yet another you know, warrior against Alzheimer's disease and another
one lining up behind us to go find that here.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Well, all I know is that we're going to have
to have more white flowers. That is the intent, and
that is the prayer, correct.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Damien one one hundred and one thousand percent, And is
going to be a beautiful day when that white flower
is represented in our our walk as well as walks
and other elsewhere. And I intend to be a front red.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Center for that because that is the day we find
a cure to Alzheimer's community. Damien, thank you so much.
Powerful conversation today, lifting up lids and ruffling feathers so
that we can speak on it and be about it.
So thank you for your message, thank you for your drive,
and thank you for your purpose understanding it is something personal.
(28:24):
We all have something personal when it comes to Alzheimer's,
because it's on the rise and we have to address it.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Indeed, thank you so much. Love being on the team
with you, with iHeartRadio and everyone listening to this message.
We're going to get there and it's going to be
a glorious time.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Amen. Thank you community for listening to community viewpoints. Be empowered,
be a blessing, and definitely be in your community.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Thank you, Damien, Thank you very much.
Welcome to community viewpoints as Shawnee feeling blessed and highly favored.
On this Sunday morning, we are empowering our community shining
a light on Alzheimer's. We have a very big Walk
to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville PEP rally coming up and today
I have Damian May with the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Good morning, Damien,
(00:23):
how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good morning? I am great? How are you You know?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
I can't complain. I am here to help the community
understand a disease that has a lot of questions. So Damon,
if you would please introduce yourself tell us why you
got involved in Walk to End Alzheimer's.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Absolutely hy Damien May.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I have been working with the Alzheimer's Association here in
Central and North Florida for geez, well over ten years.
I will say myself. I'm actually a pharmacist and the
health economist, and I got involved in Alzheimer's for a
pretty unique reason that I in my profession really take
(01:03):
an economic impact, which is everything from the cost of
care to the actual impact on a community. And when
I've learned about Alzheimer's style, the Alzheimer's Association, and all
that we are doing can really pursue a cure for
Alzheimer's disease. It was as noble a cause as I
(01:23):
could get involved in. First and foremost, there is a
tremendous human cost to Alzheimer's. I think that, you know,
people certainly understand, but behind that there is also a
tremendous economic impact everything from directly what do hope that
you know, what does healthcare cost in the United States too?
What is Alzheimer's Association's impact on all of those costs?
(01:46):
And let's just say it is tremendously expensive. So in
doing such, I've involved myself with the association because not
only is it important that we do everything we can
to support caregivers, families, patients, everyone who's being directly touched
by this, but also it's very important to make sure.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
That we here in.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
The United States we have a system that can actually
help accelerate the care, accelerate connecting patients with therapies, and
then ultimately do all that research and invest the resources
necessary in pursuing a cure. And the good news is
that in the past decade or so, we have actually
(02:28):
seen a lot of advances towards that goal of curing Alzheimer's.
There's still a lot of work to do, but I
think we are all very fortunate to be in an
age of virgeting science in Alzheimer's disease, and I'm very
foolish that we're going to see the cure in my lifetime.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I am so excited that we're able to talk today, Damien,
because Alzheimer's affects family deeply as well as a community.
How does this disease impact the Jacksonville community. I understand
that it's worldwide, but.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Locally, yeah, so great question. I mean, not surprisingly, you know, Florida,
with all of our retirees, we do have a tremendously
large population of patients with Alzheimer's disease. So in Florida
we're actually the second largest number of people in the
US with over five hundred and eighty thousand patients with Alzheimer's.
(03:22):
I mean, in Duval County alone, approximately twelve percent of
patients over sixty five are living with Alzheimer's eight if
you do the math, that's more than seventeen thousand people. Now,
that is a tremendous impact on our community. Many of
us unfortunately either know very directly or no people that
(03:44):
have been touched by this terrible illness. And so from
that perspective, you know in Jacksonville's not unique. I mean Miami, Orlando, Tampa,
we all have these same issues here in Florida. But
what's very important is that we all come together and
leverage the power we have as communities of Jacksonville and
(04:05):
these other areas in Florida to really bring strengthen numbers.
And the Alzheimer's Association is really kind of the powerful
force behind orchestrating and coalescing all of this interest and
desire to do something positive to impact Alzheimer's disease in
our community.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Now, if you would, Damien, Alzheimer's is prevalent here in Florida,
prevalent in life family members that are taking care of
that person. What is the walk to end Alzheimer's. How
can this family member get involved so that they can
be a part of the fight.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I think that is the most important. The most important
thing is really activating people in our community. I mean,
when you talk about in general, there is obviously patients
with Alzheimer's.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
But the broader view is impact of people.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So Obviously, not only are people working full time jobs,
but people are caregivers.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
We know that the people six out.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Of ten caregivers, we're working essentially full time in addition
to what is a full time responsibility to caregive for
one of our loved ones. I think certainly it has
tremendous impact of whether it's patients or people retiring early
because of the impacts for this leaving the workforce, whether
it's needing time off or buikly just impacting your day
(05:30):
to day ability to even do your day job. So
that is a big piece of this. And you know,
at the same time, you know, those of us who
are of a certain age, not only do we may
possibly have, you know, potentially parents that are in that demographic,
but at the same time we're raising families of our own,
So there's all kinds of competing pressures. I think the
(05:50):
first and foremost thing I would like to say to
any caregiver out there is is.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You are not alone.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
There are a lot of us who really care so
much about doing what we can to support our community.
And that's one of the reasons why accessing the community
that is the Alzheimer's Association can be such a tremendously
positive thing for any family, caregiver or loved one first
(06:19):
and foremost to know you're not alone. But secondly, very importantly,
there is a tremendous number of resources so that you
don't have to answer every question alone. The good thing
about the folks who know are whether you're there, your
professional staff at the Alzheimer's Association, or just your pears
in the community that have are in a similar situation
(06:41):
as you.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
The closer and the.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
More you get involved in the Alzheimer's Association, the more
you have access to the support, the resources, the tools,
the things you need to really help manage your life
and understand that there is a community in care around you.
Now and you kind of mentioned it is one of
(07:02):
the biggest invests and frankly most fund ways to really
kind of diet your toe into how do I get
involved with the Alzheimer's Association is there is a tremendous
event that goes on all across the country called the
Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's, which is the largest
event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care support
(07:25):
research programs. Now, what is so beautiful about this I've
been to a number of these, is is that you
me the absolute cross section of.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
The community you live in.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Because what it shows you very quickly is there is
no one who is untouchable in a community when it
comes to Alzheimer's. Interestingly, you know, when we talk about
Alzheimer's in general, there's a lot of great a great
warmth in the color we pick purple. What do you
think about purple? Purple is regal. Purple is something that
(07:59):
is generally well accepted across even when we've talked in
the political circles, we we say red plus blue equals purple.
Wishous true, no one is immune. Everybody somewhere, if you
talk to them long enough, they have a story. And
all of these people come to this wonderful event.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Now envision this.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
You've got a large number of people across your community
coalesced to do this wonderful walk through your community to
raise awareness. Not only do we all show up in
are either our purple shirts or our team shirts. We
have a number of corporate groups locally that come out
and they may show up in whether it's their corporate
brand or their you know, their community, or their neighborhood,
(08:42):
or they may just you know, have a team rallied
around these specific persons. So it's a really neat betting butt.
There's a lot of simplism too. Everyone walk grabs the
flower when they get there, and this is kind of
the garden that is pursuing this cure. Really cool about
it is everybody has a different color flower, which is
(09:04):
really interesting, which means each flower actually means something. So
if you have a blue flower, that means you're representing
someone who is living with Alzheimer's or another dementia, so
you're there on their behalf, here there to support them
and to kind of raise them to this community. Purple
(09:25):
is a very pointing color because it's unfortunately that signifies
the folks that have lost someone to the disease. But
also those are the people that you know, Those are
the people you want to know and you want to
let them know that you're there for them, We are
here for you. Yellow is someone who is currently undergoing
supporting or caring for a person with Alzheimer's, and there
(09:49):
is so much yellow out there that you look and
you talk to people and you learn their stories, you
learn their struggles. But again it's a community taking care
of the community. And then finally, and this is the
color flower that I actually carry with me, which is
an orange flower. And what that really means is these
are people, for whatever reason, they believe that it is very,
(10:10):
very important to live into the Association's vision of a
world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia. I'll say it's
the healthcare professional. I carry that orange flower very proudly
because what I do in my day job is is
I work to drive science forwards so that we can
(10:31):
get to a place where we see this cure. And
then there is one color, a very important color of
flower that we are reserving, and this is the big hope,
and that color flowers, the life flower, is going to
be for the first patient that is cured of Alzheimer's disease.
And we are going to get to a world where
(10:53):
we come to these walks, whether it's in Jacksonville or
somewhere else where, maybe we see multiple life.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Flowers in year.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Over a year, the white flowers grow, and that means
that our ability to cure and end Alzheimer's is that
we've made it to that place. Now I look forward
to that moment I know that I as well as most,
if not all, others, will not have a dry eye
at the entire race when we see that live into fruition.
(11:20):
But again, it is a beautiful thing to see, be
a part of, feel, take with you and really just
sort of understand and connect with the pain the joy.
I love the support of the community that we live in,
and I will say that one of the best parts
is that we can all involve ourselves however we would
(11:42):
like to show up however we would like to, and
just being there is just the start of the journey.
We don't ask anything of people other than to be
present and really soak yourself into the symbolism of this
wonderful event. Now this all sounds great, I would say
there is a ton more information about this, and I
(12:04):
would really encourage any of you to just, you know,
take a few minutes and go out to the Alzheimer's
Association website. So that is als dot org Forward Slash Walk,
and that particular part of the website talks to all
of the stories about the walk to Alzheimer's. But then
(12:25):
there's also a very specific Jacksonville page which is al
dot org Forward Flash Jacksonville walk all one word uh
and and that's actually where you can register a team,
learn how to pull a team together, learn all of
the all those things that are going to be associated with.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
This event, which you know.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And we're coming right into the season with kicking off
this next couple of months where we'll really be focused
on that walk the first weekend in November.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Speaking is Damien May, board member of the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville. Damien,
a lot of information today. Your work is very important, Damien.
Quick question, is Alzheimer's hereditary? What would a family member
do that is experiencing or taking care of a family member?
Is it hereditary?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
So I think that one of the most important things
anyone can do is certainly making sure they know their
family history and give your your family doctor a complete
family history. They're going to want to understand if that
is in your family. Now, there is a lot of
(13:38):
science out about Alzheimer's and there are some indications certainly
that there is a genetic component of this, and we
have seen through generations that if you have someone with
Alzheimer's in your family, you may be essentially more predisposed
to Alzheimer's. However, that does not mean you're going to
(14:00):
necessarily get Alzheimer's suite. So most importantly is a full
family history, because now what we're starting to see emerge
as well from the science perspective, there's lots of fantastic
science about some of the types of precursors that maybe
markers that increase someone's risk. Maybe there are some therapies
(14:22):
even emerging to start to preemptively treat patients, you know,
earlier on than we actually might have known before. As
we continue to get these new therapies and we continue
to get tests and we identify certain markers, certain triggers,
that we can be in a much better position to
(14:43):
do something about the potent, whether it's increased risk of Alzheimer's,
what have you. So again, I think one of the
most important things to do is is just really make
sure that not only that you're having a very open
dialogue with your you're a family position as well as
if you do have some of those risk factors or
(15:05):
some family history, there are strategies when you are a doctor,
or whether it be connecting with a specialist or doing
some typxogenetic markers, there's some things that you can do
to sort of put yourself in the best position to
preemptively or reduce some risk potentially as developing Alzheimer's. I
(15:27):
wish we had the whole solution right now, like we
do unfortunately some other disease states. However, I will say
even in the ten to fifteen years I've been doing this,
the science has advanced so rapidly that it just feels
like we're even closer to the brain of even more
breakthroughs in the space. And I would just kind of
(15:48):
watch the space, and again, I think the Alzheimer's Association
is a really great resource to not just space current
on some of the quote unquote science, but more so
the practice things to do. When we learn something new
about Alzheimer's, there's going to be very practical questions or
inquiries that maybe the Alzheimer's Association can kind of help
(16:10):
you all understand that. Again, there is a lot more
known about Alzheimer's now, and there's a lot more health
potentially for you and your loved one.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
A call to action Community Shawnee speaking to Damien May,
board member for the Alzheimer's Association Jacksonville get ready for
the Walk to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville kick off. It is
a prep rally coming this Wednesday, and you can find
out the information on our website and of course be
sure to join this fight against Alzheimer's. Damien, anything else
(16:42):
you'd like to share with the community about Alzheimer's at
this time, all I'd have.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
To say is that you know this was very personal
to me is We're all busy. We all have a
lot going on in our lives, and I was introduced
into the opportunity to work with the Alzheimer's Associate a
long time ago, and it has become an absolute labor
of love for me. I look forward to meeting every caregiver,
(17:08):
every patient, every loved one that is willing to share
a story.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
All you can do.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Is become richer as a human being and weren't connected
to your community. If you find a way to incorporate
yourself here. I will say, there's no event out there
quite like the lockdown in Alzheimer's. It is something that
is a tremendous joy to me and my family's life,
and we look forward to it every year. And I
really hope that many many of you I'll have the
(17:36):
opportunity to meet you here at the Jacksonville end of
black Alpheniber's disease here this November. I saw a statistic,
you know, a good few years ago, and I don't
know how it's changed, but essentially I can't fount of
this change much. But if you look at the top
ten diseases in this country in terms of how much
(17:57):
money you spend on the care of people with those diseases,
Alzheimer's ranked like a number six on this particular list
when I saw it. And the interesting thing about it
was is not only was it the sixth most costibly
things that could happen, is that it was also the
one disease that was a negative prognostic indicator for all
(18:20):
the other nine diseases in.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
The top ten.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yet it was so horrifically under resource at the time.
Now the good news is we're up to multi billion
dollars of research allocated DNIEAS, which is one of the
reasons we've started to see some therapeutic innovation in Alzheimer's.
So we're not where we need to be, but we
are a long ways away from where we were a
decade and a half ago, and I hope a decade
(18:44):
and a half from now we are like years away
from where we are today.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Alzheimer's I understand, and dementia, it is a disease of
the unknown, but we are going to get there with
the cure.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
I'm sure, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
It's terrifying and people feel like they're in the dark.
We need to shine the light on it and by
doing that.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
It's going to get us to that life.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And I can't wait for that day, Amien.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
I appreciate your time today. I appreciate the work that
you do. I believe that we can and Alzheimer's and
I am in the beility system that we have a
community that will rally against it or around it. So
thank you so much for your time today and allowing
us to understand your drive, your why and what we
can do as a community. So we appreciate you. Do
(19:30):
not stop that, and if we hear it, iHeart could
beat of any any assistance. Please feel free to reach out.
It is very dear and near to many of the
people that work here as well, So thank you for
your time.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Thank you so very much for hosting this very very
important conversation, and I hope to see you folks from
my heart and all these folks who listen to your
broadcast at the walkdo in Zelzheimer. So thank you so
much for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
This is a fi that we all don't understand, but
we have loved ones that we care about and we
want them to be here as long as they can.
So it's a call to action. Damien, we are here,
I will be there, and of course community be sure
to rally around this and rally around your loved ones
to make sure there is a stop to this Alzheimer's
(20:21):
and a cure as well. Thank you, Damien.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
It's been a pleasure chatting with you here today. And
again I thank you, and I think.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I heard the radio for really being a wonderful partner
to us, and you have been for a long time,
so it's not lost upon as how important you are
in helping us to get.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
The word out. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
And yes, Damien, it is a beautiful thing when the
community can come together and support and rally behind a cause.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Well, yeah, and that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
And what I have seen that has been beautiful over
the decade and a half I've been doing this is
where people used to be very sky and reserve, whether
it was because of their own personal trauma, or like
a shame compone into it, like you know, all my
people who love me are going to go away from
me because they don't know what to do and.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
What to say.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
And more we put this out and the open the
more of the community and each of us in it
have been able to embrace one another. And it's just
a great thing to see. And you know, every time
I have navich, you know, you see people and there
they dress up and everybody wants to talk. There's us,
there's spears, and it's just like, this is why I
love this community so much. It's just indicative and you
(21:28):
see a slice of that life that walked into Alzheimer's event.
I've worked with a lot of caregivers over time. We
go talk to politicians, We've gone to d C and
people are just like, oh my god, I'm going to
go talk to a senator this and that, and I'm like,
you tell your story. You're going to have me eaten
out of the plump of your hands by the end
of it. And we've seen senators cry because you touched
(21:49):
the nerve because they have an Alzheimer's to someone with
alz members of their family. So again, it's just one
of those things that is universally relatable, and if you
can care of that experience with others, you know, it
can take what is a super painful thing and purt
it into something beautiful.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
The energy around taking care of a parent or taking
care of somebody who's battling Alzheimer's that caregiver. With this
Walk to End Alzheimer's, the resources will be there, but
it will also enable us as people to understand that
there is a community caring about you, that you can
address it, that there is resources people who want to
(22:32):
actually listen and understand.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Absolutely, and I mean and normalizing a lot of the
emotion that people have around their situation, whether they're a patient,
whether they're a caregiver. And a lot of times people
think those things are very unique to them and they
feel bad about it. But then when they open up
and talk and people throw their arms around them and say.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
You know much, I know exactly how you feel.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
That's exactly you know. Whether you know on one given
day I'm sad, another day I'm angry. There's all kinds
of emotion out there, and they're all, Okay, it's tough,
this is a nemesis, and we're all battling this scourge
of Alzheimer's disease. Don't think you need to take them
on by yourself or you know, we are all unified
against it and we are strength to numbers that we
(23:20):
are going to be successful.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You know, success always happens in numbers. And you said
the word damien a surge as we get older. The
generations are getting older, and we have to understand we
are getting older and we have to address some things
even if we don't want to.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Yeah, it's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I will say from the point standpoint of a health economist.
You know, all we hear about is this healthcare is expensive.
It's getting more expensive, patients are getting older.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
This, that, and the other things.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
And if we don't do the right things now, it's
a whole lot more expensive to deal with.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
This later, not to mention the more important.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Issue of the tremendous human costs to this whole thing.
But you know, I will come at it from the
economic side, and it says, how can we better create
systems of care so that people can find what they
need when they need it, how they need it, in
a place where they need it. You know, as opposed
to creating this whole system of you know, hoops and
(24:20):
complexity that make it almost like the second part of
the terrible thing is not just getting the diagnosis, but
it's trying to figure out how to maneuver it through
the system to actually get you get the care you need.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
And that is a.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Terrible aspect of healthcare in the United States. But again,
one of the one of the things that me and
a number of healthcare professionals who have aligned ourselves of
the Alzheimer's Association is is we at least we kind
of understand the madness of it from the inside out.
So if we can't provide any advice, insight, guidance to
(24:56):
the association and all of its constituents, then maybe do
we just make that that you know, pursuit of care
just a little bit easier. It's never going to be
totally easy, but you know, if we can start demystifying
some of these systems barriers, then we can just deal
with the disease and the direct impact of it. So
(25:17):
it's something I have dedicated my career to and until
I you know, until I ride off into the sunset,
I intend to stay very, very involved in this. At
the end of the day. It is about connecting anyone
to the care they need. I'm just happening to focus
on else members because of the huge nature and scope
(25:39):
of this beast at this point in time.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Community. Johnnie speaking to Damien May, board member with the
Alzheimer's Association of Jacksonville, understanding that this disease has many components.
You said something about a pursuit, and we are in
a pursuit to that care, that or and of course
I believe that we will find that cure. You said it,
(26:04):
and I believe it, so we will stand on it. Community,
be sure to get to our website. We have the
Walk to End Alzheimer's Jacksonville kickoff this Wednesday coming and
be sure to empower the community in numbers, understanding that
we are here to empower our community and encourage everyone
(26:25):
battling dealing with Alzheimer's to talk about it, to be
about it. But let's walk and be on sites on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
I was just going to say, and Wednesday being almost
like this overt kind of kickoff to the seats. I know, Brandon,
it's always the season to do something about Alzheimer's, but
this wonderful adventure this Wednesday that you reference, which is
you know, really sort of this kickoff which is going
to happen at Mellow Mushrooms. Dear leg we're here in
(26:59):
Jackson though from four thirty to six thirty PM. Not
only is it a great cause and an important thing
that's happening, is also a heck of a lot of
fun and you will run into some you know, dynamite
people with beautiful stories about themselves, their loved ones and
(27:19):
things they've done with the association over time. So you know,
don't be bashful about it. Anytime a new face the scene.
All it does is create more joy because it's just
yet another you know, warrior against Alzheimer's disease and another
one lining up behind us to go find that here.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Well, all I know is that we're going to have
to have more white flowers. That is the intent, and
that is the prayer, correct.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Damien one one hundred and one thousand percent, And is
going to be a beautiful day when that white flower
is represented in our our walk as well as walks
and other elsewhere. And I intend to be a front red.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Center for that because that is the day we find
a cure to Alzheimer's community. Damien, thank you so much.
Powerful conversation today, lifting up lids and ruffling feathers so
that we can speak on it and be about it.
So thank you for your message, thank you for your drive,
and thank you for your purpose understanding it is something personal.
(28:24):
We all have something personal when it comes to Alzheimer's,
because it's on the rise and we have to address it.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Indeed, thank you so much. Love being on the team
with you, with iHeartRadio and everyone listening to this message.
We're going to get there and it's going to be
a glorious time.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Amen. Thank you community for listening to community viewpoints. Be empowered,
be a blessing, and definitely be in your community.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Thank you, Damien, Thank you very much.
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