Latest / The iHeart SoCal Show / Join Us For The Walk To End Alz With The Alzheimer's Association
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Lisa Fox here, this is the I Heart SoCal Show.
- 0:02Speaker 2: Okay, so with new treatments finally emerging and the fight
- 0:06Speaker 2: against Alzheimer's and all other dementia, now is the time
- 0:09Speaker 2: for hope.
- 0:10Speaker 1: Now is the time for action.
- 0:11Speaker 2: Held in over 600 communities nationwide, the Alzheimer's Association's Walk
- 0:16Speaker 2: to End Alzheimer's is the world's largest fundraiser for care, support,
- 0:20Speaker 2: and research to fight this disease. Please join us. Find
- 0:23Speaker 2: the walk near you at ALZ.org slash walk. There's a
- 0:27Speaker 2: few more locally here in Southern California. I'll be hosting
- 0:29Speaker 2: the walk in Woodland Hills at Pierce College on Sunday,
- 0:32Speaker 2: October the 25th. Please join us for that. But I
- 0:35Speaker 2: want to tell us more about the Alzheimer's Association. Is
- 0:37Speaker 2: there a Southland Chapter Board of Directors member, Rhonda Wilkin?
- 0:41Speaker 1: Hi, Rhonda.
- 0:42Speaker 2: Hi, Lisa.
- 0:42Speaker 3: How are you?
- 0:43Speaker 4: Hello.
- 0:44Speaker 1: Doing all right.
- 0:44Speaker 2: And bonus on the phone, Rams running back, Blake Corum
- 0:48Speaker 2: from the Rams.
- 0:49Speaker 1: Whose house?
- 0:50Speaker 4: Whose house? How y'all doing?
- 0:54Speaker 1: Glad to have you on, Blake, with us, Rhonda and I.
- 0:57Speaker 2: Blake, Rhonda, I know that you and I are going
- 0:58Speaker 2: to talk more about what the organization does for those
- 1:01Speaker 2: once they're diagnosed and how it helps family members once
- 1:03Speaker 2: a loved one is diagnosed. But Blake, like me, I
- 1:06Speaker 2: hear you are on this call because this is a
- 1:08Speaker 2: very personal cause near and dear to your heart.
- 1:11Speaker 1: Tell us your story.
- 1:12Speaker 4: No, it definitely is. So my grandma, Kathy Pierce, someone
- 1:18Speaker 4: that I've admired since I was a little boy, you know,
- 1:20Speaker 4: got frontal temporal dementia at the age of 52. And
- 1:26Speaker 4: she was in her prime. She was the head of
- 1:29Speaker 4: her own department in the hospital. You know, she worked
- 1:32Speaker 4: her whole life, you know, didn't come from much, worked
- 1:35Speaker 4: her whole life to get into her prime. And then boom,
- 1:39Speaker 4: You know, and we really didn't see it coming. You know,
- 1:42Speaker 4: we thought things were changing, you know, before she turned 52,
- 1:46Speaker 4: maybe around 50. But we just weren't quite sure. And then,
- 1:50Speaker 4: you know, then it hit her. And, you know, I
- 1:54Speaker 4: believe there needs to be more research about Alzheimer's, about
- 1:57Speaker 4: frontal temporal dementia, because it truly changes, you know, your
- 2:01Speaker 4: loved one's lives. They're independent. You know, my grandma, she
- 2:05Speaker 4: can no longer drive anymore. And we try to say
- 2:08Speaker 4: she's getting better. She's getting better. We try to give
- 2:11Speaker 4: her the treatment that could possibly help, whether that be
- 2:14Speaker 4: hyperbaric chambers. But, you know, nothing's curing it. And so
- 2:18Speaker 4: for me, you know, having such a loved one close
- 2:20Speaker 4: to me as my grandma, who has had such a
- 2:22Speaker 4: big impact on my life and the person I am.
- 2:25Speaker 4: go through this. I want to just get the word
- 2:28Speaker 4: out there so we can get as much research as
- 2:30Speaker 4: possible to help find a cure and to help everyone
- 2:34Speaker 4: going through, you know, a similar situation that I'm going through. Yeah.
- 2:37Speaker 2: Thank you for that, Blake. You know, Rhonda, is 52
- 2:40Speaker 2: sounds so young. I mean, talk about the age range.
- 2:43Speaker 2: when these types of things can start happening. And this
- 2:46Speaker 2: is where we all need to kind of, sadly, it's
- 2:48Speaker 2: a bit of a wake-up call to kind of notice
- 2:50Speaker 2: the differences in behavior, whether it's just getting older.
- 2:53Speaker 1: But 52 is not old. I'm older than 52. It's
- 2:57Speaker 1: not old. It seems so young.
- 2:59Speaker 2: So talk about the age range, and then we'll talk
- 3:01Speaker 2: about the signs we need to be looking for in
- 3:03Speaker 2: terms of Alzheimer's and dementia.
- 3:04Speaker 4: Rhonda?
- 3:05Speaker 3: Oh, thank you. So obviously, it historically has been a
- 3:10Speaker 3: disease of the brain, brain disease and brain shrinkage. But
- 3:14Speaker 3: we are seeing more and more with early onset in
- 3:18Speaker 3: their 40s, in their 50s, and they tend to be
- 3:21Speaker 3: very aggressive. And so we are fighting. And generally, what
- 3:25Speaker 3: we see first is a loss of executive function. Something
- 3:29Speaker 3: that we, steps that we would take from A to Z,
- 3:33Speaker 3: people can't do anymore. Before we will see the, someone
- 3:37Speaker 3: not being able to remember your name. We'll see executive
- 3:40Speaker 3: function go first.
- 3:42Speaker 1: And then again, signs you need to look for.
- 3:44Speaker 2: I mean, it just starts to, just like Blake was saying,
- 3:47Speaker 2: she's not acting like she normally acts.
- 3:50Speaker 1: I know you're big on this phone number.
- 3:52Speaker 2: The Alzheimer's Association has this helpline, which is very helpful
- 3:56Speaker 2: for everyone to write down and have. If you have questions,
- 3:59Speaker 2: if you're questioning a loved one and their behavior, it's
- 4:01Speaker 2: a good number to call to start asking these types
- 4:03Speaker 2: of questions, right?
- 4:05Speaker 1: That 1-800-272-3900 number.
- 4:07Speaker 2: Just to say, hey, I think my mom or my
- 4:09Speaker 2: grandma may have Alzheimer's or dementia.
- 4:12Speaker 1: How do I know? Help me. Well, what are the signs?
- 4:14Speaker 3: Absolutely. Or visit ALZ.org, either one. We have master's level
- 4:20Speaker 3: clinicians and specialists on the phone. in multiple languages, 365
- 4:24Speaker 3: days a year to help families navigate.
- 4:27Speaker 2: And it's one thing to call the phone number to
- 4:30Speaker 2: ask about some behavioral changes that may be happening with
- 4:33Speaker 2: a loved one in terms of fearing that they may
- 4:35Speaker 2: have Alzheimer's or dementia.
- 4:36Speaker 1: But then you can get some facts.
- 4:38Speaker 2: You do a brain scan to see if they actually
- 4:40Speaker 2: are going to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia. Blake,
- 4:43Speaker 2: did your grandma have the brain scan?
- 4:45Speaker 4: Yes, we took her in to get a brain scan.
- 4:48Speaker 4: And that's when we, you know, found out that she
- 4:50Speaker 4: had frontal temporal dementia. And, you know, I will say this, though,
- 4:54Speaker 4: she's happier than she's ever been, you know, and so having,
- 4:59Speaker 4: you know, a sibling or a family member that has
- 5:01Speaker 4: dementia isn't ideal, right? That's not what we want. But,
- 5:05Speaker 4: you know, I try to find a positive in everything.
- 5:07Speaker 4: And she is very happy, although it's sad at the
- 5:10Speaker 4: same time, she is very happy and Since, you know,
- 5:13Speaker 4: we're talking, I would like more people to learn about
- 5:16Speaker 4: dementia because, you know, sometimes when she goes out in public,
- 5:20Speaker 4: she likes being nice to everyone. She wants to help everyone.
- 5:22Speaker 4: If she sees a problem, she wants to try to
- 5:24Speaker 4: help you. And her mind isn't all the way there.
- 5:27Speaker 4: And sometimes people can be rude. And so, you know,
- 5:29Speaker 4: that bothers me. And so my advice to everyone is,
- 5:32Speaker 4: you know, you don't know what someone's going through. Just
- 5:35Speaker 4: be a good person. Be a nice person. And so
- 5:38Speaker 4: that's what I would have to say.
- 5:39Speaker 2: Blake, is she here locally and is she getting care
- 5:42Speaker 2: in a facility or is the family able to take
- 5:44Speaker 2: care of her or have her stay with y'all?
- 5:46Speaker 4: Yes. My mom and my grandfather, they're with her every day.
- 5:52Speaker 4: She is in Virginia and she loves hiking. She goes
- 5:55Speaker 4: on multiple hikes a day or walks a day.
- 5:57Speaker 1: But not by herself now. Not by herself.
- 5:59Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 6:01Speaker 4: Not by herself, but she loves being outdoors. And we
- 6:04Speaker 4: still try to give her, you know, her own independence.
- 6:06Speaker 4: She loves going to her same stores every day. But,
- 6:09Speaker 4: you know, she's back home and we have a lot
- 6:11Speaker 4: of family surrounding her with a lot of love and
- 6:13Speaker 4: help and care.
- 6:14Speaker 2: Yeah, that's another thing I know that the Alzheimer's Association
- 6:16Speaker 2: can help with. I mean, once a family member is
- 6:18Speaker 2: diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia... that there is so many
- 6:21Speaker 2: different levels of care that y'all can recommend or help
- 6:24Speaker 2: them get into.
- 6:25Speaker 4: Right.
- 6:26Speaker 3: Exactly. And Blake, I just love that. What I call
- 6:29Speaker 3: she's living well with the disease. And that's what we're
- 6:32Speaker 3: asking for. Right. We, we want her to have meaningful
- 6:36Speaker 3: moments and joyous opportunities. And thank you and your family
- 6:40Speaker 3: for being able to make that happen for her. And
- 6:42Speaker 3: that's what we want for everyone.
- 6:45Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 6:46Speaker 3: So, yes, the Alzheimer's Association is here with programs and
- 6:50Speaker 3: services all throughout our San Fernando Valley. And, again, just
- 6:55Speaker 3: call that 800 number. or go alz.org and let us
- 7:01Speaker 3: help you with everything. That number again is 800-272-3900.
- 7:04Speaker 1: Yeah, I was looking at some stats here, Ronna, in
- 7:07Speaker 1: front of me.
- 7:08Speaker 2: In California, there are nearly 720,000 people in California living
- 7:13Speaker 2: with Alzheimer's and over 1.4 million family members and friends
- 7:17Speaker 2: caring for them, like Blake was talking about. My boyfriend, Eric,
- 7:21Speaker 2: his mom had Alzheimer's pretty bad. She was in a
- 7:24Speaker 2: home and it's really hard to see, really hard to
- 7:28Speaker 2: see when the person that you love isn't really there anymore.
- 7:34Speaker 2: Sometimes there's glimpses, but they're not all there. And it's
- 7:36Speaker 2: really hard to see. It's hard to watch.
- 7:38Speaker 3: Lisa, it is hard. And there was a sign on
- 7:41Speaker 3: my desk. that says the hardest thing you'll ever have
- 7:44Speaker 3: to do, my dear, is grieve the loss of someone
- 7:48Speaker 3: who's still alive. And I think that sentiment is so incredibly,
- 7:54Speaker 3: so incredibly true. And so the numbers are huge. We've
- 7:59Speaker 3: got 7.4 million people living with a dementia across the
- 8:04Speaker 3: United States. Here in California, you are absolutely correct. We
- 8:08Speaker 3: actually have the largest number here in California, over 700,000,
- 8:13Speaker 3: 720,000 in the state of California. And then if you
- 8:19Speaker 3: trickle down here in Los Angeles, that's why these walks
- 8:22Speaker 3: are so important. We have the largest conglomerate of people
- 8:27Speaker 3: living with dementia here in Los Angeles. And so it's
- 8:31Speaker 3: our neighborhood, right? The numbers are staggering. It's our friends.
- 8:35Speaker 3: It's our family. It's right here. And that's why this
- 8:38Speaker 3: walk is so important and what we're doing is so important.
- 8:41Speaker 1: All these walks are important.
- 8:42Speaker 2: And plus at the walks, what I found in previous years,
- 8:44Speaker 2: you know, Eric and I go every year now in
- 8:46Speaker 2: her honor.
- 8:47Speaker 1: Ursula passed two years ago. God bless her. She's free
- 8:50Speaker 1: of it now.
- 8:52Speaker 2: But doing these walks, boy, you're in the company of
- 8:54Speaker 2: people who know.
- 8:56Speaker 1: What you're going through.
- 8:57Speaker 2: And, you know, you've got the flower garden where we
- 8:59Speaker 2: all pick a flower that represents what we're each going through.
- 9:03Speaker 2: These big windmill flowers that they all represent.
- 9:06Speaker 1: Blake, have you done a walk yet? You need to
- 9:08Speaker 1: do a walk with us.
- 9:09Speaker 4: No, I haven't done a walk. I haven't done a
- 9:11Speaker 4: walk yet, but I would love to join this year
- 9:13Speaker 4: and walk.
- 9:15Speaker 3: Oh, I would love to have you.
- 9:16Speaker 1: We just have to check his Rams football schedule. But yeah. Oh,
- 9:20Speaker 1: and I talk about the garden.
- 9:21Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh. The garden is one of the most
- 9:23Speaker 3: special things that you'll see. It's called the Promise Garden Ceremony.
- 9:27Speaker 3: There are four colors of flowers. So yellow is for caregivers.
- 9:32Speaker 3: And I have a heart for caregivers. We need to
- 9:35Speaker 3: take care of them. And they are so important to
- 9:39Speaker 3: just the care and outcome. We're seeing, unfortunately, too many
- 9:43Speaker 3: caregivers with health challenges. Let's all just love on those caregivers.
- 9:47Speaker 3: And those are the yellow flowers. A purple flower will
- 9:50Speaker 3: be if you've lost somebody from Alzheimer's. So, Lisa, you
- 9:54Speaker 3: and I are sharing purple. Blue is if you are
- 9:59Speaker 3: somebody with... Alzheimer's, you'll carry a blue flower. And orange
- 10:03Speaker 3: is if you are a supporter of the Alzheimer's community.
- 10:06Speaker 3: And so Blake, thank you. And thank you for your, obviously,
- 10:10Speaker 3: cleats with a cause. We are so thankful for what
- 10:13Speaker 3: you're doing for us. You are definitely an orange flower.
- 10:16Speaker 3: Now there is one magical flower at every walk. And
- 10:20Speaker 3: that is the white flower. And that is the flower
- 10:23Speaker 3: of hope. And I just want to let you know,
- 10:26Speaker 3: I've been walking, this is my 24th year. The message
- 10:31Speaker 3: that we are seeing this year is so incredibly different
- 10:36Speaker 3: because of the research, because of the.
- 10:39Speaker 1: The breakthroughs. We've had some breakthroughs.
- 10:41Speaker 3: The breakthroughs. We've got the biomarker breakthroughs. We've got infusions.
- 10:46Speaker 3: We are there. And for somebody like myself who has
- 10:49Speaker 3: relied on the Alzheimer's Association and been involved to be
- 10:53Speaker 3: at this point. We're all going to be in tears. Waterproof, mascara, day, Lisa.
- 11:00Speaker 4: Oh, I will. Please.
- 11:01Speaker 1: It's like finally, finally, finally, right? Finally things are happening.
- 11:05Speaker 4: We are there.
- 11:05Speaker 3: We are seeing it. Yes. Yes.
- 11:07Speaker 4: Let's go.
- 11:08Speaker 1: Blake, she's saying we're going to be a little messy
- 11:10Speaker 1: at the walk. So we'll be a little emotional.
- 11:12Speaker 4: I'll be right there with you guys.
- 11:14Speaker 1: Emotionally messy.
- 11:14Speaker 2: There you go. But for a great reason and all
- 11:16Speaker 2: standing together again with our flowers, walking hand in hand. Again,
- 11:20Speaker 2: I'll be hosting this. The walk in Woodland Hills at
- 11:23Speaker 2: Pierce College on Sunday, October the 25th.
- 11:25Speaker 1: There's also a few walks coming up.
- 11:27Speaker 2: Let's see, Santa Monica, November 1st, L.A., November 7th, and
- 11:30Speaker 2: Huntington Beach, November 7th, and Santa Barbara, November the 14th.
- 11:33Speaker 1: ALZ.org slash walk for more.
- 11:35Speaker 2: And Blake, as a Rams player, you've been doing also
- 11:38Speaker 2: My Cause, My Cleats in honor of your grandma?
- 11:41Speaker 4: Yeah, My Cause, My Cleats is where, you know, NFL players,
- 11:44Speaker 4: they play. Pick a cause, you know, that's dear to
- 11:47Speaker 4: their heart. And so obviously, you know, this is my cause.
- 11:50Speaker 4: I did it last year. We'll do it again.
- 11:51Speaker 1: And how does it work?
- 11:53Speaker 4: Like I said, bring awareness. So I custom cleats mine
- 11:57Speaker 4: last year. Flowers on it had frogs on it.
- 12:01Speaker 1: I got her favorite things.
- 12:03Speaker 3: Frogs.
- 12:03Speaker 4: I remember as a kid, she always told me because
- 12:06Speaker 4: I love frogs. And she said frog means fully rely
- 12:08Speaker 4: on God. And that stuck with me forever. And then
- 12:13Speaker 4: we donate them and try to raise money for awareness. Oh,
- 12:16Speaker 4: very nice.
- 12:17Speaker 2: Can people Google My Cosmic Cleats to find out more?
- 12:20Speaker 2: My Cosmic Cleats?
- 12:21Speaker 1: Blake Coram of the Rams?
- 12:23Speaker 4: Yes, yes.
- 12:24Speaker 1: Now, what cleats are you wearing for this season?
- 12:26Speaker 4: I'm going to do it again. I'm going to do
- 12:27Speaker 4: it again.
- 12:28Speaker 1: Oh, great.
- 12:29Speaker 4: I'm not sure. Maybe I'll come up with a little
- 12:31Speaker 4: bit of different design. Think of other things that were
- 12:33Speaker 4: meaningful to her. and me at the same time and
- 12:36Speaker 4: put them on the cleats and spread awareness for Alzheimer's.
- 12:39Speaker 1: Oh, that's so great.
- 12:40Speaker 2: And then Rhonda, I hear that we already have 600
- 12:42Speaker 2: plus people sign up for our walk that I'll be
- 12:44Speaker 2: hosting at Pierce College Sunday, October 25th for the walk
- 12:47Speaker 2: to end Alzheimer's.
- 12:49Speaker 1: So great.
- 12:50Speaker 3: That's what we're looking for. And people can still sign up.
- 12:53Speaker 1: All right.
- 12:54Speaker 3: Yeah, no, let's do it. And you can still sign up.
- 12:57Speaker 3: You just go to ALZ.org backslash walk, find your walk.
- 13:01Speaker 3: Sign up. Start raising some good funds. It's a family event.
- 13:05Speaker 3: There's a kids area. There's food. There's entertainment. And obviously,
- 13:09Speaker 3: we're just going to have just a spectacular morning. There
- 13:12Speaker 3: is registration on site. Don't be shy. Just come up
- 13:15Speaker 3: and join us, please, at Pierce College. Registration will start
- 13:19Speaker 3: at 8 a.m. with the Promise Garden ceremony beginning at
- 13:23Speaker 3: 9 a.m. And the walk kicks off at 930.
- 13:26Speaker 1: And a nice little early morning 5K around the campus, probably, right?
- 13:29Speaker 3: Yeah, not too strenuous at all.
- 13:31Speaker 1: Blake's like, come on. I run football fields all day.
- 13:34Speaker 1: Give me at least a 10K. Come on.
- 13:36Speaker 3: I'll give you.
- 13:37Speaker 4: Let's walk as long as you guys want.
- 13:40Speaker 3: Blake, if you can join us, if you can join us,
- 13:43Speaker 3: I'll put you, I'll give you the orange flower. You
- 13:45Speaker 3: can go up on stage.
- 13:48Speaker 4: Awesome. Awesome. That sounds good. I would love to come.
- 13:51Speaker 1: We'll see how the football schedule looks.
- 13:53Speaker 4: We'll see how the football schedule looks. But if I
- 13:55Speaker 4: can't make that one, I'll definitely try and make another
- 13:57Speaker 4: one for sure.
- 13:58Speaker 3: Thank you.
- 13:59Speaker 4: Very important.
- 14:00Speaker 2: And we know, too, like, again, the people who will
- 14:02Speaker 2: be on hand at these walks, all the walks. Including
- 14:04Speaker 2: our walk on October 25th at Pierce College.
- 14:07Speaker 1: It's hugs. It's conversation time. It's sharing.
- 14:09Speaker 2: It's being there for each other. People want to share
- 14:11Speaker 2: their stories sometimes. And like you said, caregivers, they're caring.
- 14:15Speaker 2: It's so hard 24-7 to be caring for.
- 14:16Speaker 1: A loved one. And it's so expensive.
- 14:19Speaker 2: I know for my boyfriend, it's so expensive to pay
- 14:22Speaker 2: for care. often families, you know, have to move them
- 14:25Speaker 2: in and it just becomes a whole different family dynamic.
- 14:28Speaker 1: And you do the best you can. It's just really,
- 14:30Speaker 1: really hard on so many levels.
- 14:31Speaker 2: So to know that the support, the big support family
- 14:34Speaker 2: from the Alzheimer's Association is there for you is everything.
- 14:37Speaker 1: So that's, you're going to meet on site at the walks.
- 14:40Speaker 2: And of course, again, the phone number 1-800-272-3900 to call
- 14:44Speaker 2: their helpline. If you have any questions about anything or
- 14:46Speaker 2: a concern about a loved one or a family member,
- 14:48Speaker 2: that you think may be showing signs of early onset
- 14:50Speaker 2: Alzheimer's or dementia. And we'd love to see you at
- 14:52Speaker 2: the walk. And we want to say, uh, thank you,
- 14:54Speaker 2: Blake Coram and go Rams, uh, Monday night football. Take
- 14:58Speaker 2: those bills down, baby.
- 15:00Speaker 4: I appreciate you for having me.
- 15:02Speaker 1: Thank you so much. And I'm Rhonda Wilkin. I will
- 15:04Speaker 1: see you at the walk October 25th as well.
- 15:06Speaker 2: And, uh, alls.org, a LZ.org slash walk for all the info.
- 15:10Speaker 2: And we'll see you guys very soon. And thanks so
- 15:12Speaker 2: much for, Again, shining a light on this disease, and
- 15:15Speaker 2: we are looking to turn a corner and hoping for
- 15:17Speaker 2: some more and more good news coming down the pike
- 15:20Speaker 2: for Alzheimer's and dementia for sure, right?
- 15:22Speaker 1: Come on now.
- 15:23Speaker 4: Let's go. Absolutely.
- 15:25Speaker 3: Let's do it. Let's do it. There is hope. There
- 15:27Speaker 3: is hope.
- 15:28Speaker 1: Rhonda and Blake, thank you guys so much. Thank you.
- 15:31Speaker 3: Thank you.
- 15:32Speaker 4: Awesome.
- 15:32Speaker 3: Thank you so much.
- 15:33Speaker 4: That was great.