Hello! My name is Alix Kalfin and I joined the Alzheimer's Project team nearly two years ago as a Social Media Consultant. I believed in supporting the cause but I thought I had no personal ties to the disease. It does not run in my family so I figured it would be a long time, if ever, for someone I know to experience a memory disorder. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The signs were there but we hadn't connected the dots...

My parents started having marital issues and my dad couldn't hold a job for very long. Both of these things were out of the ordinary but we couldn't figure out the root of the problem. After months of my parents suffering while trying to understand what was going on, my mom traveled to Tallahassee to attend an Alzheimer's Project event. She was looking through the Resource Manual and realized it was most likely early onset Alzheimer's disease. My dad was diagnosed shortly after his 65th birthday.

Even if you're not currently affected by Alzheimer's Disease, it's likely to rear it's ugly head at some point. In fact, every 65 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's disease. It is a social crisis as families are torn apart attempting to care for their loved ones. I truly believe things would have played out much differently had the Alzheimer's Project services been available where my parents lived. For those of us here in the Big Bend, we are extremely lucky to have this amazing organization just a call away whenever we need their assistance.

The Alzheimer's Project needs to grow but it's up to you and me to get involved. By volunteering and donating, we can be the moving force to keep this mission alive!