We Must Continue to Fund Alzheimer's Research

Last month, 14 of my fellow Hoosier advocates traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) Advocacy Forum. While I did not attend, I am proud of the more than 1,000 volunteers who joined them in turning Capitol Hill purple in honor of those impacted by the devastation of Alzheimer’s.

Among the issues they discussed with our Members of Congress was the critical importance of funding Alzheimer’s and dementia research. Without sustained research investments, breakthroughs in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s are not possible.

Congress has played a significant role in addressing Alzheimer’s by prioritizing dementia policies and continually investing in critical research efforts. By increasing funding for Alzheimer’s and dementia research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
by an additional $113.485 million, Congress, including my Representative Andre Carson, has the opportunity to continue providing hope to those impacted by this devastating disease.

This issue is very personal for me as my mom had Alzheimer’s and my husband and I were her primary caregivers. The physical, mental and financial toll this journey took is hard to explain. We experienced a lot of sleepless nights, tearful conversations,
and struggles with our own health issues throughout our five-year journey.

My hope is that future generations will not have to make the difficult decisions that we had to make. We have made a lot of progress, but we can’t stop now. We must continue to invest in progress and invest in hope. Visit alz.org to learn more.