It’s been an interesting couple of days at Star 102.5 as we finish up the Request-a-thon for the Alzheimer’s Association. Putting this event together has taught me a lot about the disease, and how many are touched by it. So many people have come up to me, or called, or emailed to tell me how they are dealing with it in their lives.

To be honest, it also brings back painful memories of my grandmother’s passing, and more recently my aunt (pictured, middle), who both suffered from vascular dementia. As far as we have come with research and development, like cancer there is no cure for Alzheimers. There are many promising drugs in the pipeline, we are tantalizingly close to finding a cure, but it is still out of reach. That is what makes an organization like the Alzheimer’s Association so important.

In addition to the ongoing research, I think knowing you have help 24/7, even if it’s just being able to call someone for support, is incredibly important. I can’t imagine being a caregiver day-in and day-out watching someone you love slipping away. That feeling of helplessness is hard enough, but there’s also the underlying fear that you might be watching a future image of yourself going through the same thing.

So, I feel good about playing Frank Sinatra, Metallica, Selena Gomez, and the Beatles back-to-back, because it’s helping us break the chain of this terrible illness, and helping keep future children from going through it too.

Check out www.alz.org if you’d like to help.

–Brian