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Brandon Burke, Hero and Advocate for Alzheimer’s Disease
National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and National Family Caregiver Month begins November 1, 2020. It is a month to honor the millions of family members and friends serving as Alzheimer’s caregivers. For family caregivers this month acknowledges the sacrifice, time and love they’ve given to care for a person with the disease. Brandon Burke, author and Alzheimer’s advocate, shares his journey and how the disease changed the course of his life after caring for his father in his new book, “Rediscovering Dad & Discovering Myself: A Journey Through the Impact of Alzheimer’s”.
Mr. Burke experienced the mentally crippling disease first when his grandmother was diagnosed and again in 2015, when his father suffered the same malaise. In his book, he shares the path as a caregiver and the bond between he and his father. Brandon realized his passion was helping others who were in similar situations. “Sharing our stories is our superpower. You never know how your story can impact the life of someone else until you share it. It just might save them.”
Known for their Caregiving advocacy, AARP May 2020 research reports that, “Today, more than 1 in 5 Americans (21.3 percent) are caregivers, having provided care to an adult or child with special needs at some time in the past 12 months. This totals an estimated 53.0 million adults in the…