My Buddy Jerry

Jerry is a father of three, a devoted husband, and a Korean War veteran who spent his life serving both his country and his family. Today, he lives with Alzheimer’s disease, and like so many others, the life he built is slowly being taken from him piece by piece.

His son visits him for lunch every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. His wife comes every Tuesday and Thursday. Their presence is constant, intentional, and rooted in love—but even with that consistency, Jerry often cannot recognize them. There are moments when he looks at his wife or his son and the connection simply isn’t there anymore.

And yet, pieces of who Jerry is still remain.

When I spend time with him, we do boxing together. Even from his wheelchair, he’ll throw a kick or a punch when he sees me, and in those moments there is energy, humor, and personality that feel unmistakably like him. It’s a reminder that the person is still there, even when the memory is not.

Alzheimer’s does not just take memory—it slowly rewrites relationships in real time. Families watch someone they love physically remain present while their recognition, their stories, and their shared history begin to disappear.

For every family member, there is a painful dual reality: the face they love is still right in front of them, but the person they know is slipping away.

This fundraiser supports accelerated global Alzheimer’s research aimed at changing that future. In the past decade, researchers have made meaningful progress in understanding the disease at a biological level, identifying earlier biomarkers, and developing new medications that have been shown to slow disease progression in some patients. While there is still no cure, these advances mark important steps forward in extending quality time and improving care for those living with Alzheimer’s.

Every donation helps push that progress further and faster. It helps fund the research that can turn today’s breakthroughs into tomorrow’s treatments—and ultimately, into a future where families like Jerry’s do not have to experience this kind of loss.