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Advocate Profiles - Win Heimer

When the demands of caring for Carol, his wife with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, became too much to bear, Win Heimer had to confront the difficult reality of placing her in an assisted-living facility.

“It was a wrenching experience,” said Win, a 65-year-old retired media relations specialist who lives in West Hartford, Conn. “Carol turned 65 on July 4, 2007, and a facility bed became available five days later. She adapted to her new surroundings rather quickly, but I felt like a piece of my life was torn away.”

Prior to her diagnosis, Carol was a successful, active psychiatric nurse. A “people person,” according to Win, others were immediately drawn to Carol, even when she occasionally showed a flash of displeasure.

“She could be surly at times,” Win admitted, “but she never raised her voice. You just knew when she wasn’t pleased. She still has some of that when she doesn't like how [facility staff] handles her, but she always keeps her sense of humor and quickly bounces back with that great, wide, infectious smile she’s always had.”

Still very connected to the world, Carol recognizes and remembers people, and Win visits her daily. “She followed the presidential campaign with a keen interest and voted via absentee ballot,” he said. “She follows the news and knows the stock market is taking a beating.”

With established ties to state and federal officials thanks to a longtime interest in labor activism, Win found advocating for the Alzheimer cause to be a natural fit. With a focus on working to remove the two-year waiting period for Medicare benefits faced by people with disabilities under age 65, Win is also keenly interested in urging Congress to increase federal Alzheimer research funding.

“What motivates me is knowing that if more research money had been available much sooner, perhaps Carol would not be where she is today,” he said.

A member of the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter’s public policy committee, Win participated in a panel discussion at the 2008 Public Policy Forum. He borrows a well-known commercial catch phrase when asked what he would say to fellow advocates wondering if they should attend this year’s Forum.

“Just do it,” Win said. “You’ll meet a lot of interesting folks and learn a lot about the legislative process if you get involved and stay involved. We need to make more progress to conquer this disease, and your voice does count. It takes a little bit of courage, a lot of persistence and the knowledge that you are in it for the long haul.”