GILBERT, AZ — More than 150,000 Arizonans are living with Alzheimer's disease. While all have Alzheimer’s, each with their own unique story, struggle, but also resilience.
In Gilbert, Steve Adams has found a creative way to raise awareness about Alzheimer's while honoring his wife Amy, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2017 at just 54 years old.
"I thought, how could I better let people know what's going on with Alzheimer's? And that was by creating attention," Adams said.
Steve transformed his Mustang convertible into a rolling tribute to Amy, covering it with meaningful stickers and over 100 flowers, each with the names of people impacted by Alzheimer’s, including Tony Bennett and Ronald Reagan.
Still, the vanity license plate reading "4-U AMY" is most meaningful to Steve.
“Amy is my wife. That's who I am doing all of this for," he said.
Now, Amy lives in a memory care facility, where Steve visits her regularly. On this drive over in the Mustang, a stuffed alligator sits in the back seat — a present for Amy.
“I would imagine as soon as she sees me, she’s going to drop what she’s doing, run over towards me, and give me a big hug. I’m going to bring her a present today, and that always helps break the ice when we get together,” Adams said.
While the disease has progressed to the point where Amy needs assistance doing most everyday tasks, she still recognizes Steve.
Just as he predicted, when he arrived at her memory care facility, she ran up to give him a big hug.
“I have never felt so loved in my life, and still do,” Adams said. “I think you noticed that when she came flying out the door, that’s still there.”
Inside Amy's room, paintings of her and Steve hang on the wall. On this visit, Amy was unable to recognize who was in the pictures.
"Today you and I witnessed something for the first time, she looked at the picture and she didn't know who that was, and she thought the picture of her was her sister,” Adams said. "It's a sign the disease is continuing to take memories from her."
Despite these challenges, their bond remains unbroken.
"It isn't easy. It is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. And it doesn't pay worth a darn. But I want to tell you, if you love somebody enough, you're going to do whatever you can to keep that person safe and happy as much as you can. And that's what I've decided to do," Adams said.
Outside of the facility, Steve continues to work to make as many people aware of the challenges of Alzheimer’s. At the June Gilbert Town Council meeting, the town recognized June as Alzheimer’s Awareness month. Thanks to Steve’s efforts, Gilbert is also beginning to train their employees on how to better serve community members with various forms of dementia.
While there is no cure for Alzheimer's, Valley doctors say lifestyle choices can improve brain health and potentially reduce risk.
"A lot of our brain health comes from physical health. So exercise, walking, good sleep, all of it impacts your brain's capacity. So not only is it important to do the memory games, but also take care of your physical health," Dr. Erica Grabinski, primary care doctor, said.
The Alzheimer's Association of Arizona holds its Walk to End Alzheimer's every November, with registration open now for those wishing to participate.
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