Our Race to end Alzheimer’s

True confession: I didn’t have a clue what I was going to write about this morning …..until, my two sons stopped by the shop on the way to the office as they often do, (and that small gesture makes me a rich man)! They came this morning to install the head on the engine we’re building for our family’s race car. So what does that have to do with Alzheimer’s you might ask? Let me explain.

For several years we’ve been preparing and racing this old Camaro that we rescued from a local resident’s yard just before it was doomed to its last trip to the junk yard. My sons and I have spent many late night hours working on it over the last five years. Now we’re working  to get it ready for its next event which will be a fifteen hour endurance race on March 29th at the high banked oval of The Daytona International Speedway. I can’t wait! In fact, I’m hoping to scratch off an item from my “Bucket List” by driving it a few laps myself on that iconic racetrack.

A couple of years ago we decided to combine our  passion for racing with our passion for seniors, especially seniors with Alzheimer’s and their families who care for them. So now, the car is sponsored by Visiting Angels® and badged with a special logo promoting “The Race to end Alzheimer’s”.  Here are the latest facts regarding this dread disease from The Alzheimer’s Association that demonstrate why it’s a race worthy of running and winning:

More Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. 

● An estimated 6.9 million Americans aged 65 and older have Alzheimer’s dementia.  

Deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease are increasing. 

● Between 2000 and 2021, the number of deaths from Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S. as recorded on death certificates more than doubled, increasing 141%, while deaths from the number-one cause of death in the U.S. (heart disease) decreased 2.1%. 

● Alzheimer’s disease was the fifth-leading cause of death among individuals age 65 and older in 2021 (the most recent year for mortality data). 

Alzheimer’s is one of the most costly diseases for individuals, families, caregivers, and the government. 

● The total cost of caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the United States is projected to reach $360 billion in 2024. In addition, family and friends provided nearly $350 billion in unpaid caregiving in 2023. 

● Without new treatments and advancements in care, the total cost for caring for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is projected to reach nearly $1 trillion in 2050. 

Caregiving time, costs of care continue to rise. 

● In 2023, almost 11.5 million caregivers provided nearly 18.4 billion hours of unpaid care, a contribution to the nation valued at $346.6 billion. 

● The total lifetime cost of care for someone with dementia is estimated at almost $400,000 with 70% of these costs borne by family caregivers in the forms of unpaid caregiving and out-of-pocket expenses. 

● Sixty percent of caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia were employed in the past year. However, many of these caregivers had to make major changes to their work schedules because of caregiving responsibilities: 57% said they had to go in late, leave early or take time off and 16% had to take a leave of absence. 

Closer to home, my son, David, who meets with virtually all of our Visiting Angels® clients in their homes, estimates that 60% of our clients need care because of Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related issues!. That is why it hits so close to home for our family and why we consider it a race worth winning!

Thanks for reading All About Seniors…..see you next week!

PS….. By the way, we have a third passion that overarches everything else that we do; you can tell what that is by reading the scripture verse on the back of the race car:
Hebrews 12:1….. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at  https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA