Thank you, Rep. Connolly, for supporting Alzheimer’s research

Guy Mayer with his dad in 1967.

By Guy R. Mayer

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of medical research. As Congress addresses the needs of our nation’s most vulnerable impacted by COVID-19, they’re also continuing their work to address another devastating disease affecting millions of Americans – Alzheimer’s. 

In honor of my Dad, I’m now volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association to support their work in fighting this horrible disease. 

My Dad passed away in 2009 due to Alzheimer’s, so, I understand firsthand the impact this disease has on individuals, their families, and caregivers across America.  

My Dad had a very interesting life. As a young boy, he was an accomplished horseman under the guidance of a traveling circus troupe. He later served in Patton’s Army during World War II and was stationed in Germany, France, Belgium, and North Africa.  

He also practiced law for almost 50 years and in his spare time, he loved to fish, tinker with cars – my job was to hold the flashlight – and play with our dogs during sunset after a long day. 

He died in 2009, at 89 years, and near the end, he only knew me, my brother, and my sister as nice young people who came to visit him. Even though it was sad that he didn’t know us anymore, he was happy, gracious, and full of life. 

Because I moved away from home years ago, I only was able to visit him and my Mom once a year. The last time I spoke with him was by phone on February 5, 2009, his birthday.

Thankfully, Congressman Gerry Connolly supports an FY 2022 $289 million funding increase for Alzheimer’s and dementia research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

With this funding increase, scientists will be able to work at a more rapid pace to advance basic disease knowledge, explore ways to reduce risk, uncover new biomarkers for early diagnosis and drug targeting, and make discoveries that can lead to a treatment or a cure. We can’t afford not to fund research.  

Today, more than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s – including 150,000 in Virginia – a number expected to nearly triple by 2050. Without medical breakthroughs, this number is projected to rise even further.

Please join me, and the Alzheimer’s Association, in thanking Rep. Connolly for his support of increased research funding at NIH. 

It is only through increased research funding that we will discover new ways to treat and eventually prevent Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. 

As our nation continues its collective focus in 2021 on keeping people safe and healthy, it is time to honor the requests of scientists and researchers for additional research funding so they can bring hope and optimism to the millions of American families affected by this disease.