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 2000
Merit Winner
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Alzheimer’s Family Relief Program
The Alzheimer’s Family Relief Program (AFRP) provides grants of up to $500 to needy applicants to help cover such emergency expenses as short-term nursing care, respite and day care, medication and medical supplies, transportation and living expenses, personal hygiene supplies, and other costs directly related to patients’ care and treatment.
Many people think of Alzheimer’s disease as a new disease – it is not. The German physician whose name it bears first reported it in 1906. Today, Alzheimer’s disease is the fourth leading cause of adult death in America. Alzheimer’s attacks and destroys the brain. During its relentless assault, its victims deteriorate from simple bouts of forgetfulness to a childlike, even infantile state. Alzheimer’s may complete its destruction in the short span of two or three years or it may drag on for 20 years or more. In either case, the duration seems endless and ultimately will end in the death of its victim.
As Alzheimer’s disease carries out the destruction of its victims’ brain, there comes a time when around-the-clock care is needed. Besides the terrible emotional toll of watching a loved one deteriorate, Alzheimer’s can cause severe financial strain as well. Caring for an Alzheimer’s patient at home costs an average of $20,000.00 a year in America. Many caregivers soon find that whatever they had put aside for their “golden years” is spent on providing care.
The cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown and presently there is no cure.
Alzheimer’s Disease Research, (ADR), has awarded more than $27.7 million in grants for research into this brain-destroying disease. Currently 22 research projects are underway with ADR funding.
The Alzheimer’s Family Relief Program has awarded more than $1.3 million in direct assistance grants since 1988.
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