Memory Walk for dementia in Parramatta
PARRAMATTA Park will be filled with activists, celebrities and residents this Sunday, all walking in the fight against dementia.
‘‘I was born and bred in Parramatta and I think It’s fantastic the Memory Walk for dementia will be held here,’’ said actor Doris Younane. ‘‘We have to get western Sydney out in droves.We want to get families out.’’
Ms Younane became passionate about the cause when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, six years ago.
‘‘It’s not like it’s the end of somebody’s life but you are losing them,’’ she said. ‘‘People with Alzheimer’s do unusual things.’’
Dementia can cause loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and physical functioning.
‘‘It’s not a happy journey but there are good times,’’ she said. ‘‘I know my mother more now and I spend so much more time with her because of the illness.’’
She said Alzheimer’s Australia had helped her to get through the toughest times.
‘‘When my mum was diagnosed I thought what the hell am I supposed to do? But then I contacted Alzheimer’s Australia.’’
Ms Younane said in the next 40 years a million people in Australia will have dementia and that was a problem too big to ignore.
‘‘Alzheimer’s is not a dirty word. That’s what this walk is about.We need to support the people like Alzheimer’s Australia who are trying to support us.’’
This week Ms Younane was made an ambassador for Alzheimer’s Australia. She will take part in the MemoryWalk through Parramatta Park with fellow ambassadors Ita Buttrose, P.J. Lane (son of the late Don Lane, who had Alzheimer’s) and Maxine McKew.