HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-01-21, Page 15Wednesday, January 21, 2015 • Huron Expositor 15
Help fight Alzheimer's disease during the final winter Walk for Memories
Residents of Huron
County are stepping forward
on Sat., Jan. 31 to support
people affected by Alzhei-
mer's disease and other
dementias.
Over the past 19 years,
Huron residents have raised
more than $530,000 for pro-
grams and services for the
more than 1,100 individuals
living with dementia in our
county, and for other critical
activities like education and
public awareness.
The Alzheimer Society
Walk for Memories, locally
presented by Investors
Group, is the most important
fundraising activity for Alz-
heimer's disease and other
dementias in Canada.
Huron is one of 65 com-
munities in Ontario to raise
funds and awareness, a
movement expected to
gather thousands of Ontari-
ans taking steps towards a
world without Alzheimer's.
Supporters can donate or
register to walk and collect
pledges at www.walk-
formemories.ca.
"I've know for years,
there was something seri-
ously wrong with me. I
just didn't know what it
was. Finally, I had a diag-
nosis to this terrible thing.
My emotions have ranged
from disbelief to anger to
sadness," said Mary Beth
Wighton in a blog post on
alzheimersocietyblog. ca.
"The one thing that has
remained constant from
the start is my desire to
live life to its fullest and
with dignity. At the bot-
tom of my calendar page, I
Harriet Brooks: "That
woman scientist"
CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 8
For a woman in her thir-
ties, Pitcher offered
Brooks financial security
and respectability. He
promised to allow her to
continue her career, but
Brooks never again
returned to the laboratory.
As Russian revolution-
aries did not meet with
the approval of Montreal's
elite, Pitcher forced
Brooks to sever her rela-
tionship with the
Gorky's. As an agnostic,
she refused a church wed-
ding, but, eventually,
relented and married
Pitcher in a small Angli-
can chapel in London,
England. Brooks main-
tained contact with Lord
Rutherford but topics
turned to the domestic
rather than the scientific.
The Pitchers had three
children, Barbara Anne,
Charles and Paul. In 1926,
tragedy struck as Charles
died of meningitis. Their
daughter, Barbara Anne,
died under mysterious cir-
cumstances in 1929 while
a student at McGill.
Brooks became a leader
in Montreal's Anglophone
community as she served
as President of the
Women's Canadian Club
in 1923-24, and several
other women's academic
groups. However, it was
her gardens that she
devoted most of her
efforts.
Harriet Brooks was an
extraordinary person as
both woman and scientist.
Even though her scientific
career only lasted from
1899 to 1907, she was the
only physicist who worked
with all three pioneers in
nuclear science, Lord
Rutherford, Madame Curie
and J. J. Thomson. Brooks
made several vital contri-
butions to nuclear physics
as she is credited as a co -
discoverer of the element
radon, and measuring the
stages and rates of radioac-
tive decay.
She died at age 56 on
Apri117,1933. The cause
of death was probably leu-
kemia brought about by
her early unprotected
experiments with radia-
tion. Except for an obitu-
ary in Nature magazine
written by Lord Ruther-
ford, the tremendous
achievements of this
remarkable `woman sci-
entist' have been virtually
ignored by the scientific
community.
have written the well-
known line, 'Live each as
if it's your last.'"
Alzheimer's disease is
the most common form of
dementia, affecting men
and women of all races,
religions and socioeco-
nomic backgrounds. No
one is immune, and
changes in the brain that
lead to dementia can
begin more than 20 years
before symptoms appear.
Today, one out of 10
Ontario seniors is living
with Alzheimer's disease
or another dementia. But
Alzheimer's is not a nor-
mal part of aging.
"Age remains the biggest
risk factor to dementia.
With huge numbers of baby
boomers now entering the
years of highest risk, if they
live long enough one in
three will eventually
develop Alzheimer's dis-
ease," said Cathy Ritsema,
executive director at the
Alzheimer Society of Huron
County. "When you walk,
you send a message of hope
to the more than 1,100 peo-
ple living with dementia in
our community, and to the
thousands who love and
care for them. When you
fundraise, you make them
the promise that help is
available now and will con-
tinue to be for the future."
Walk for Memories is also
a great way to stay healthy
and lower the risk of demen-
tia. Regular physical activity,
like walking, gets the heart
pumping, which benefits the
brain by encouraging the
development of new cell
connections, a process the
brain is capable of doing at
any age.
Walk for fun, fitness and
raising much-needed funds
and awareness. This will be
the final Winter Walk for
Memories, as the Alzheimer
Society's across Canada pre-
pare to launch the national
springtime event as the soci-
ety moves forward in its fight
against dementia.
There are five indoor
Walks locally in Clinton,
STRETCH
YOUR
DOLLARS
WITH THE
CLASSIFIEDS
PARK THEATRE MTN
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GODERICN 519 524 7811
;OR MOVIE INFORMATION..
ww ,mav el"enks.ca atm d ,d a'1.800-265-3438
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 -1 PM
*`®®®• BLYTH MEMORIAL HALL •••®••
Tickets available at the Blyth Festival Box Office
or by calling 1-877-862-5984.
Also available online at www.blythfestival.com
www.facebook.com/rtalent
www.rocklandsentertainment.com
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Exeter, Goderich, Seaforth
and Wingham. Registration
begins at 9:30 a.m. Wel-
come ceremonies begin at
10 a.m. To join the Walk,
donate to the cause, or for
more information about
the Walk for Memories, visit
www.alzheimer.ca/huron-
county or call
519-482-1482.
The Goderich Walk for
Memories will take place at
the Goderich YMCA, 190
Suncoast Dr. E.
OPEN HOUSE
For
Dorothy Papple
Please join us at the
Seaforth Manor (lower level)
SAT. JAN. 31 • 2-4 p.m.
_4__Best Wishes Only Please
r»
Please join us at
the Seaforth Legion.
SAT, FEB. 7 • 2-4 p.m.
Donations to the Seaforth and Area
Food Bank gratefully accepted. h
No Gifts Please.
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