The Blog on alanarnette.com

I have been an Alzheimer’s Advocate since 2007. I use my mountaineering, speaking, and website to tell the story of my mom, Ida Arnette and our battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. In fact, my annual coverage of Everest is part of my efforts to raise awareness and research money for Alzheimer’s non-profits. You can read more about Ida and our journey at this link. Today, I’m asking that you join me in signing the Stop Alzheimer’s Petition. We must come together to stop this disease. Later this spring, a coalition of Alzheimer’s activists is going to present this Petition to members continue reading

I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. I know I am but could use some more snow and ice here in Colorado for climbing! As I prepare my Christmas wish list for Santa, I thought I would share it with you in hopes I can influence your list. All I want for Christmas is a dramatic improvement in the ongoing work to find a cure for Dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and help those tireless caregivers. So Santa, if you are listening, can you bring these five wishes true around the world? 1. Double the Real Funding for continue reading

Today is World Alzheimer’s Day. Organizations and individuals are noting the day on their websites, and Facebook pages with purple logos, pictures of loved ones and articles. Many list the facts and figures that are most commonly associated with Alzheimer’s Disease including 68 seconds someone in the US is diagnosed with AD and every 4 seconds worldwide. 115 million will have some form of dementia by 2050. While the facts, especially the financial toll is alarming and should be a call to action for everyone, it is not. With so much information available, the real stories are often lost in continue reading

September is World Alzheimer’s Month, an event designed to bring global attention to this devastating disease. September comes on the heels of my mom’s death from Alzheimer’s in August only three years ago. Last year I noted the event from the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa as I was nearing the completion of “The 7 Summits Climb for Alzheimer’s: Memories are Everything” project. In the course of only 9 months, I climbed the highest mountain (including Everest) on each continent to send a message of hope, need and urgency that Alzheimer’s is a disease with no cure and needs continue reading

The Alzheimer’s Association’s annual look at the prevalence of the disease and impact has resulted in startling numbers for 2012. The Mayo Clinic defines AD as: Alzheimer’s disease causes brain changes that gradually get worse. It’s the most common cause of dementia — a group of brain disorders that cause progressive loss of intellectual and social skills, severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life. In Alzheimer’s disease, brain cells degenerate and die, causing a steady decline in memory and mental function. This brief video from the Alzheimer’s Association is compelling and alarming: 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. continue reading