Local Couple Featured in Newsweek Magazine
June 11, 2007
NITRO - Local couple, Brenda and Kenneth Haydon of Nitro, will be featured in the June 18, 2007 issue of Newsweek Magazine. The story features baby boomers across the nation coping with the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease. Kenneth is just one of the over 5.1 million Americans, and 46,000 West Virginians that have Alzheimer's disease, a number that increases every 72 seconds. Kenneth was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's disease in 2003 at the age of 52, followed by Brenda's mother's diagnoses in 2005.
The Haydon's were chosen for the Newsweek article because they face a different set of circumstances but have found a unique way to cope with the disease. While most baby boomers face the challenge of coping with a parent, the Haydons are an example of the growing population of baby boomers facing Early Onset Alzheimer's. Early Onset Alzheimer's is found in people under the age of 65, and has been found in people as young as their 30's. The couple not only faces the disease as a daughter and son-in-law, but as a husband and wife.
When Kenneth was diagnosed with the disease, he was forced to leave his position as a mining electritian, but too young to access his company's pension, losing his health insurance. Together they waded through the financial challenges, two year wait for social security benefits and her mother's diagnosis. During this difficult time Kenneth discovered a hidden talent. Kenneth never considered himself artistic, but he took an art class at a local senior center to keep his mind active. Hundreds of paintings later, Kenneth's artwork was most recently featured on the Alzheimer's Association, West Virginia Chapter's Public Policy Calendar.
Since the diagnosis the Haydons have become active volunteers and advocates for the Alzheimer's Association, West Virginia Chapter. Through their outreach Kenneth wants people to know that, "this is not just an old person's disease."
The Newsweek article is part of the Alzheimer's Association's consumer campaign to educate the public about Alzheimer's disease and the coming epidemic. Currently 5.1 million Americans live with the disease, however, this number is set to increase dramatically. According to researchers at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1 in 85 Americans will have Alzheimer's disease by 2050.
Click here to read the Newsweek article.
CONTACT: Laurel Kirksey 1.304.343.2717 or laurel.kirksey@alz.org
