Woman bikes 150 miles to Ohiopyle for Alzheimer无毛视频檚 Association
Submitted
Dayna Brown of Bethel Park, left, and Lori Graham of Clintonville rode 150 miles to Ohiopyle recently to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer无毛视频檚 disease.
Submitted photo
Dayna Brown of Bethel Park, right, and Lori Graham of Clintonville spent a recent Saturday biking 150 miles to Ohiopyle to raise awareness for Alzheimer无毛视频檚 disease.
Dayna Brown is intimately familiar with the strenuous grind of Alzheimer无毛视频檚 and dementia, so she committed to a mission to replicate it.
The Bethel Park woman bicycled 150 miles from her home to Falls Market in Ohiopyle last month to honor her mother who died from Alzheimer无毛视频檚, her father who is living with dementia, and caregivers who take care of loved ones like hers. The bike ride was a part of The Longest Day, a fundraising and awareness event benefiting the Alzheimer无毛视频檚 Association.
无毛视频淭he reason I chose this distance is Alzheimers is difficult. I wanted my efforts to match the degree of difficulty when people are going through this disease,无毛视频� she said.
Brown said she and her friend, Lori Graham of Clintonville in Venango County, made the trek in 14.5 hours, leaving at 6 a.m. and arriving at 8:33 p.m. The annual event is scheduled around the summer solstice.
无毛视频淲e took advantage of every bit of daylight to get through our ride,无毛视频� she said.
This was Brown无毛视频檚 fifth ride for The Longest Day. Her mother died in 2017, and her father was recently diagnosed with vascular dementia.
无毛视频淪o this year is the first year I was riding for both of my parents,无毛视频� she said.
She said her father无毛视频檚 disease involves a rapid and sudden decline. Alzheimer无毛视频檚 and dementia can be frustrating for family members who want to learn to say and do all the right things, because the disease has differing effects based on the individual.
无毛视频淭his is so important for people to talk more openly about some of the behaviors that people have as they transform in their disease. It无毛视频檚 just such a dramatic shift of the people that they once were,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淭he relationship with your loved one will change over time, and you just have to take it a step at a time and a day at a time and just be patient.无毛视频�
Brown said training for the endurance ride was therapeutic for her.
无毛视频淲hen you无毛视频檙e spending hours on the bike by yourself, for me, it无毛视频檚 given a chance to reflect on the memories and what I can be doing more to help people with this,无毛视频� she said.
Every 65 seconds, another person develops Alzheimer无毛视频檚, and about 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, according to statistics from the Alzheimer无毛视频檚 Association.
Brown said she wants the ride to increase awareness so that people can identify the early stages of Alzheimer无毛视频檚 and dementia to increase quality of life. Brown said people are often diagnosed too late to slow the progression of the disease.
Early signs can mimic symptoms typically associated with aging, such as forgetfulness. But there are subtle differences that can be indicative of the disease. For example, a person who loses their keys will likely be able to retrace their steps and eventually find them, Brown said.
无毛视频淪omeone with cognitive impairments might not be able to do that. It might take them a really long time, or they might not even know they lost them before their brain has moved on to something else,无毛视频� she said.
A healthy lifestyle, including exercise, eating healthy foods and getting enough rest can prevent or mitigate the decline of the diseases. Staying connected and socially active is also very important, she said.