Letters: Fund more Alzheimer’s research

My gran had Alzheimer’s when I was born. I never got to know her true personality, but I have seen the extent of this disease. One year, driving to vacation, she thought she was going to a nursing home. She tried to open the door, and I had to stop her, at just 11 years old. I can picture the memory to this day.

Witnessing her decline shaped the path I have taken in my career and my advocacy.

Alzheimer’s and related dementias are expected to cost $236 billion in the United States in 2016, with $160 billion coming from Medicare and Medicaid. Currently, we spend only $991 million a year on research through the National Institutes of Health. The disease is a burden on taxpayers, and costs will keep growing. We have seen progress but still need to help affected families waiting for a cure.

I’d like to thank Congressman Joe Wilson for co-sponsoring the HOPE Act, and I hope that U,S. Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham will do the same.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 6:50 PM.