New York, NY (PRWEB) April 22, 2010

“That illness is only for old men and women. It wouldn’t impact this kind of a youthful man,” Katherine Henley, 18, wrote. “But it did. And it was my dad.”

With compassion and raw emotion, Henley of Phoenix, AZ has chronicled the loss of her father to early onset Alzheimer’s disease, a rare kind of the brain disorder, in an essay written for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s AFA Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness School Scholarship.????

AFA announced nowadays that Henley is the 2010 winner of the $ 5,000 school scholarship. First runner-up is Natalie Stadelman of Hudson, OH, and second runner-up is Rebecca Herzberg of Cherry Hill, NJ.

In their essays, the key requirement in the competition, all 3 large school seniors shared a strong desire to alter the way the world thinks about Alzheimer’s condition, which presently impacts as a lot of as four.5 million Americans. With advanced age the greatest danger element for the condition, the incidence is anticipated to escalate in the coming decades as the nation’s population ages.

Although Henley illustrated that the illness can also have an effect on individuals even in their 30s and 40s–named early onset or young onset, Stadelman emphasized that individuals with Alzheimer’s condition still have their exclusive passion and power so prolonged as folks make an effort to draw it out, and Herzberg concluded that political leaders need to have to hear the stories of individuals with the condition in order to change its future course.

Evident of the numerous number of teens touched by Alzheimer’s illness, practically 1,300 school-bound students applied for AFA’s annual scholarship this year.

“We continue to be amazed by the compassion shared by these young people and their potential to take away life-modifying lessons from their experiences of interacting with loved ones and strangers with Alzheimer’s disease,” stated Eric J. Hall, AFA’s president and chief executive officer.

Henley’s heartfelt essay describes the close bond she shared with her father, Richard, the influence of “watching him slowly turn out to be somebody else,” and his death 4 years ago at the age of 44.

“He would not call my mom, my siblings or me by our names because he was afraid he would confuse them. He could not don’t forget the simplest of issues, like how to tie his footwear or no matter whether his watch was facing the right way. ‘What’s this?’ he would ask. ‘It’s a spoon, Daddy. You eat with it,’” she wrote.

Henley also relayed how their mutual really like for animals–her only supply of comfort amidst the emotional upheaval wrought by her father’s illness–has inspired her profession alternative.

“Now, I can pursue my dream of turning out to be a veterinarian. I can continue honoring my dad and do some better things in the globe that he wasn’t ready to do,” mentioned Henley, who plans to attend Colorado State College in Fort Collins following fall.

Whilst a substantial amount of other applicants also wrote about losing their mother and father to early onset Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for about 10 percent of cases of the brain disorder, most teens recalled how the disease has impacted their grandparents, excellent-grandparents and other older relatives.

Regardless of the age of the men and women affected by the condition, teens compassionately portrayed how their family life has been turned upside down, how they’ve been thrust into caregiving roles at a youthful age, and how a lot the harsh reality of memory loss hurts, specifically when a loved one particular forgets who they are.

But, amidst the pain, numerous teens expressed optimism.

For instance, soon after Stadelman created a DVD of photographs depicting her grandmother’s life and its viewing, to her surprise, garnered a reaction from her grandmother, the teen gained a new understanding of the disease.

“In that immediate, I found that absolutely everyone has a resilient force, a core, and no matter what occurs, it is constantly there–we just need to tap into it,” she wrote in her essay.

AFA established the annual scholarship so that teens could use the chance to reflect on the influence Alzheimer’s illness has had on them, their households and their communities. It is one particular of the several characteristics of AFA’s teen division, which is aimed at educating and engaging youth and connecting them with peers whose loved ones members are impacted by the disease. Teens are encouraged to express themselves on a bulletin board, look for help from AFA social workers and set up AFA Teens chapters in their community.

According to a survey by the National Alliance for Caregiving and United Hospital Fund, much more than one million kids nationwide care for sick or disabled parents and grandparents Alzheimer’s illness and associated dementias had been the most prevalent illnesses.

For more info about AFA Teens and to read the winning scholarship essays, visit http://www.afateens.org.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is a nonprofit organization based mostly in New York City that focuses on delivering optimal care to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses, and their households, and unites 1,400 member organizations nationwide that provide hands-on programs. AFA’s services include a toll-totally free hot line with counseling by licensed social workers, a totally free caregiver magazine and National Memory Screening Day. For data, call 866-AFA-8484 or pay a visit to http://www.alzfdn.org.????

Images accessible upon request.

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