At first glance, a retired chiropractor from small-town South Dakota, a West River cowgirl in a studded fringe jacket, and a young Muslim woman born in Yemen don’t have much in common. Alzheimer’s changes that, like everything it touches.
Our nation is fractured in many ways. Bipartisanship is at an all-time low, communities are segmented, and social interaction is shifting to electronic communication at its best and isolation at its worst. Groups like the South Dakota Alzheimer’s Association’s advocates in Washington this week are as rare as a total solar eclipse.
The advocates from South Dakota represented a wide range of life experiences and backgrounds, but shared one core vision: a world without Alzheimer’s and other dementia:
- Carmen Magee, 59, of Fort Pierre is most comfortable in boots and a studded fringe jacket. She is her husband Fred’s around-the-clock caregiver following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis at just 58 years old.
- Sara Alhasnawi, 22, lives in Vermillion for her first year of medical school after graduating from Augustana University in Sioux Falls. Her family is from Iraq, but she was born in Yemen while her parents were both serving as doctors to a country in need.
- John Chicoine, 79, is from Parker but moved to Sioux Falls after his late wife Paula’s care needs changed because of her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. He is a retired chiropractor who has served his community on the city council, school board, development corporation, hospital board, and ran for the South Dakota Legislature.
- Annie Welsh, 42, lives in Sioux Falls with her husband and three kids. The former TV journalist is a busy realtor who watched her dad, John, care for her mom through her journey with Alzheimer’s.
The advocates asked Senators John Thune, Mike Rounds, and Representative Dusty Johnson to support bipartisan efforts to extend the national plan to address Alzheimer’s, increase Alzheimer’s research funding, and extend the BOLD Act that is providing support for South Dakota’s work to address Alzheimer’s.
“There’s a place where we can come together, and that place where we can come together is funding for Alzheimer’s disease,” Bill McInturff, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies,
told Alzheimer’s advocates during the Advocacy Forum.
Staff from Senator Thune’s office noticed and commented on the wide range of South Dakotans represented in the small group of Alzheimer’s advocates. For these four South Dakotans, the beauty of their shared commitment to a world without Alzheimer’s made an otherwise emotionally draining week one of camaraderie and the beginning of meaningful friendships.
“Very few words can describe how meaningful and memorable this experience was for me,” Alhasnawi said. “The kindness I felt from this group meant so much to me.”
Alhasnawai made bridging differences between faith traditions a priority of hers at Augustana where she served as student body president. The biochemistry and Spanish double-major honors student is currently in her first year at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine. After a couple of trips to the South Dakota Capitol for State Advocacy Day with the Alzheimer’s Association, Sara was invited to D.C. for the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C.
Sara’s passion for Alzheimer’s comes from her academic interest in neuroscience and her time as a research fellow in the University of Minnesota’s PharmacoNeuroImmunology program where she researched Alzheimer’s treatments. Alhasnawi made increased funding for dementia research at NIH and commitment to a national plan to address Alzheimer’s a priority when meeting with her Members of Congress this week.
Her trip to D.C. happened to be over the final days of Ramadan when she was fasting every day from dawn to sunset. Alhasnawi said she was overwhelmed by her fellow advocates’ interest in her religion and the support they showed her throughout the group’s journey together.
“No matter which path she takes, I suspect she will be on that stage someday talking about a cure for Alzheimer’s,” Chicoine said of Sara. “It was a true blessing to be with this group. They were looking out for this old geezer,” he chuckled.
It’s that hope and longing for a different future of Alzheimer’s and other dementia that brings wide-ranging people together: rural and urban, West River and East River, young and old, Republican and Democrat, Christian and Muslim. In our otherwise divided nation, Alzheimer’s is still a tie that binds.
Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer's Association leads the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia.™ For more information, visit www.alz.org or call the 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900.