November is a commemorative month for many different things such as diabetes, epilepsy, prematurity, lung cancer, and more. Even though all of these things are important and terrible to live with, Alzheimer’s is one of the most common and well known diseases.

During very rare occasions, Alzheimer’s can fully develop at the ages of 30-40 years old but for most cases, it does not fully develop until 60 years old. This disease is one that can ruin a life. It is a sad time when you find out someone you care about has a brain disease that will eventually take over their thinking, memory, and even the simplest of skills. People who have Alzheimer’s can forget how to ride a bike, who other people are, and there are even certain extents of the disease to where they can forget their own name. Even when people have Alzheimer’s, families, friends, and even some pets try and help as much as they can.

There was a story in 2013, where an 89-year-old woman named Carmen Mitchell went missing for several hours. That was until a pit bull named Creature kept leading her owner, Cara Jones, into a field. Cara found Carmen Mitchell struggling to get up of the ground, but sticks kept breaking under her, so she would fall back down. Carmen’s caretaker, Rochelle Wason says, “In just a blink of an eye, she was gone. You know, I was just so scared, she is a lovely person.” Carmen’s family says that they “couldn’t believe it”, they were grateful for Creature, the pit bull.

With Alzheimer’s, there is no known cure, but there are treatments that are available and that are being researched. The treatments are not able to stop the progressing of Alzheimer’s, but it can slow the worsening of dementia symptoms. Worldwide, there are many people trying to cure or even delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. You can help fight Alzheimer’s by donating at www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp. Donating can help find a cure, slow down symptoms, and make it easier for people who are living with Alzheimer’s to live a normal life.