Indy 500 Winner Seeks To Increase Alzheimer's Awareness
Posted by Radiance PVL on Sun, Jun 05, 2011 @ 09:42 PM
After Dan Wheldon crossed the finish line to take first place at the Indianapolis 500, last month, the champion used his place in the limelight to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease.
Wheldon's mother, who is 55 years old, was unable to travel to watch her son's winning performance, due to a diagnosis of the memory impairment condition.
His comments on the disease were picked up by many news sources, as well as the Alzheimer's Association website, which posted a link on their home page.
Provision Living would like to thank Wheldon for taking the opportunity to speak up, and for having the courage to talk about his mom's condition. The decision probably did not come easy, but Wheldon's ability to take a very personal issue and make it a public one speaks volumes about his, and his family's character.
We need more Dan Wheldons in the world, and luckily there are other examples.
With Alzheimer's awareness week coming up in July we hope to hear more stories such as Wheldon's, and that of the 24th annual Alzheimer’s Association Polo Classic, which returns on Saturday, June 18 to the Hillsborough Golf & Country Club, in New Jersey.
Events such as this not only raise awareness, but they raise money to support the ongoing effort to combat the disease.
Additionally, we were interested to hear the Utah Symphony made May of this year, "Making Sense Of Alzheimer's Month." Throughout May, the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (USUO) collaborated with the Alzheimer's Association Utah Chapter to provide families and community members affected by Alzheimer's more access to classical music.
When we can link the Indy 500 to classical music all in the name of raising awareness about Alzheimer's we know there's something good about the story.
(Image Courtesy of DonFrance on Flickr)
