I had occasion to participate in the first ever Alzheimer coffee break put on by the Sarnia-Lambton Alzheimer Society, just one of 120 chapters participating in this event nationwide. Over 100 locations in Lambton county hosted a coffee break last Friday. Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disorder that affects a person's mental and physical abilities and behaviour by destroying vital brain cells. There is hope. While there is not yet a treatment to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer's, much research is being done.
Some scientists estimate that the cure is only five to ten years away.
Let us hope this indeed is the case. Participating in this celebration gave me occasion to reflect again on my rich family heritage of love, trust and commitment to each other, and of an enduring faith in God. My grandparents were able to make Canada their home in the early 1920s, having crossed the ocean in a cattle freighter. They came to Saskatchewan with their 10 children, my aunt Margaret being just a toddler at that time. The Epp family has a tradition of longevity, both in life and in marriage.