The Background

 

Why do this fundraiser?

Why am I finding ways to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society?  Why not just go on this trip to relax and enjoy?  Why try to make it more complicated than it needs to be?

Quite simply, I’ve experienced the affects of Alzheimer’s can have on a  family first-hand. My grandmother Myrtle passed away after nearly a decade of suffering from Alzheimer’s.  We lived together at my parents home before I moved away for university, and since we lived in a rural area, we spent a lot of time together.

I still remember when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and even though I didn’t know much about the disease at the time, I knew this would change things.  She took the diagnosis in stride like she did most things and she made the best of it, but I knew it was hard for her.  She was someone who was legally blind from a young age, and now her ability to remember was going too.  Alzheimer’s is difficult enough on its own, but even more so when you cannot trust your mental image that you have built over a lifetime to navigate your world. When you can’t remember where things were, or the layout of the room it poses serious challenges.  As someone who has overcome incredible challenges, she now needed help from others around her.

It was comforting to know that there is a network of people out there like the Alzheimer’s Society to help people like my grandmother and my family during those times, and now I’d like to do my part to give back to that community.  I can’t do medical research, but I can use my travels and photography to contribute in my own way.  So that is why I am doing this.

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Who I am.

 

I studied environmental science and ecotourism and have done some traveling, but I’m hardly a world traveler.  I am a Toronto transplant living in Ottawa, Ontario, and I have been working as a hydrologist for the past 11 years

I’ve had the privilege of driving across Canada from Toronto to the west and east coast of canada and back, and south to Key West, Florida, United State of America.  I have also had the opportunity to travel to Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica. This trip will be my first time I have left the Americas.  I only speak english and on some days that is not even that great, so this should make things more interesting!

I like to think of myself as a decent amateur photographer and hope to capture some good images but you can be the judge of that by commenting on my blog.  It has been many years since my last time traveling and I’m looking forward to an adventure with some new challenges, one of which will be to raise some funds for the alzheimer’s society.