Kate Dyer-Seeley  

This summer we had the pleasure of hosting Max Larkin and Emily Boardway as they kicked off the first leg of their Spoke Your Mind bike tour across the country.  Max’s father has Young Onset Alzheimer’s.  As Max and his family (like mine and so many others) tried to navigate the legal system, deal with grief and loss of losing a parent so young, and weather the emotional and financial toll of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, Max and Emily realized there was a great need to connect with other young people who faced similar struggles.  From that Spoke Your Mind was born.  Emily and Max spent the summer biking through the United States and connecting with other families of Young Onset Dementia. 

On top of the fact that I could completely relate to Max’s story, both he and Emily have an infectious enthusiasm for life and the cause.  We were all inspired by their mission and energy, especially Luke who enjoyed having them as roommates for a couple days and now wants to go on a bike tour.

Since their return home, Max and Emily having been editing hours of film they shot on the road.  They’ve also submitted a short film to the Neuro Film Fest titled, “The Music in Hugh:  A Look at Young Onset Dementia.” Click here to watch the film and vote in the YouTube “Fan Favorite” contest.  I just cast my vote and will stayed tuned to see what they do next.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Alzheimer's Info, Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.