Our Longest Day is spent playing golf, my husband Mickey’s favorite sport, which he grew up enjoying with his dad. In 2013, at age 55, Mickey was diagnosed with early-onset (also known as younger-onset) Alzheimer’s disease. Our family wanted to find a way to fight back, and we wanted to include Mickey in whatever we did. A golf tournament in his honor on The Longest Day was the best – and most obvious – choice! 
Today marks our third annual “Mickey’s Mania” Golf Classic. Our friends will come from far (and not so far) to join us for a great day of fun, laughter, food and libations. Everyone is here because they know that even after Mickey is gone, there will be people who need caregiver support and resources from the Alzheimer’s Association – and we raise funds and awareness in honor of his amazing fight. We started the day by setting up signs acknowledging our donors and supporters; as the players make their way through the 18 holes, they will see all the people who were crucial to putting this event together – and there are so many. Players arrived bright and early at 7 a.m. to pick up their goody bags – of course wearing hats monogrammed with our “Mickey’s Mania” logo – and then enjoyed a breakfast assortment of traditional San Antonio breakfast tacos; these delicious essentials are crucial to powering through the long day ahead! As the players lined up, I reminded them that we are here to rejoice in life – making this day, The Longest Day, the best day ever. Mickey has almost been in tears as he greets old friends he hasn’t seen in some time, along with people we don’t even know who showed up to play golf today and support the fight. He asks: “Is this all for me?!” I tell him yes, it is – for him and the millions of others living with Alzheimer’s disease. 
As each team finishes their round, they make their way to the silent auction. Then The Kimberly Dunn Band entertains us through lunch, as they’ve done for the past two years. Shortly, the top three teams will be awarded prizes and the winning team will be awarded the coveted monogrammed “Purple Jacket”, much in the style of the green Master’s tournament jacket given to the pros. As the players eat, our family will stop at each table, thanking everyone for coming. We are already a little sunburned, but it has all been worth it! My favorite part of The Longest Day is driving in the golf cart and seeing each team as they play. Some people have run up to hug me or introduce themselves, and as always, this day will result in so many wonderful memories and photos. Mickey really enjoys looking at the pictures from the last two years of the event on our wall at home even though he can’t remember the celebrations. I am lucky to have my memories from each of those amazing days. We won’t have the final numbers for few days, but our hope is always to raise more than the previous year. To date, our efforts have raised more than $50,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association; we hope that the numbers this year will exceed that, making it a record year for Mickey’s Mania. Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease, and we wonder if Mickey will be here for next year’s tournament, which we are already in the midst of planning. As scary as that thought is, what we don’t have to wonder about is our commitment to this cause. Our family will continue to raise funds until our task is finished, and a cure is found – eradicating Alzheimer’s disease for good.
About the Author: Together with her family and friends, Jane Wakely is participating in Alzheimer’s Association The Longest Day® on June 21, 2017, to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. You can visit Jane’s team page here.