It's hard to imagine what someone goes through when dealing with Alzheimer's. There are many people who agree it's the worst disease anyone can go through.

This disease can cause loss of memory, mental, and physical function, which sadly leads to death.

Can you imagine over time forgetting all of your loved ones? Not remembering friends or family members' names, forgetting who they are, or the history you share sounds like the scariest things I've ever heard of.

Experts have suggested more than 6 million Americans over the age of 65, maybe have dementia caused by Alzheimer's according to NIA NIH Gov, and that Alzheimer's is currently the 7th leading cause of death in the United States.

USA Against Alzheimer's states someone in the U.S develops Alzheimer's every 65 seconds and by 2050 this is projected to be every 33 seconds.

It should be mentioned that this is not just a disease that affects people of old age. 200,000 people under the age of 65 have early-onset Alzheimer's disease according to USA Against Alzheimer's.

These might be the sad and even scary facts about Alzheimer's, I'm just thankful we have people like Gary working to beat this thing.

Gary Wicklund has been volunteering with the Alzheimer's Association for the past 45 years.

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Corridor Business reports "The Alzheimer’s Association Iowa Chapter has awarded Gary Wicklund of Coralville with the first namesake Gary Wicklund Lifetime of Service Award for his 40-plus years of volunteering for the fight to end Alzheimer’s."

Gary's dedication to volunteering for the Alzheimer's Association began in 1977 when his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's before passing in 1987.

His work began as an office volunteer, he has been a spokesperson and helped to start the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Iowa City according to CBS2Iowa.

The Alzheimer's Association Iowa Chapter has also recognized Teri Skoog of Cedar Rapids, and Richard Bice, Cedar Rapids, for Volunteer of the Year.

While Alzheimer's is something no one should have to go through, the fact that we have such dedicated volunteers gives me hope.

As of today, there is no cure for Alzheimer's.

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