A new campaign for Penn Neurosciences prominently features the work of the Penn Memory Center (PMC) and Co-Director Dr. Jason Karlawish.
One of three videos hosted on pennmedicine.org/neuro interviews an Alzheimer’s disease patient named Don and his wife of 35 years, Corinne.
“It feels very lonely sometimes, living with someone you’ve known your whole life, but they’re forgetting,” Corinne said. “Alzheimer’s is like saying goodbye a little bit each day.
“That’s why we’re at Penn. Their breakthrough clinical trials are making huge strides, and they won’t stop until they cure this disease. Today, my husband still remembers me — and that is worth Penn Medicine.”
Karlawish, who has treated Don at PMC, calls his participation in the campaign “inspiring.”
“He has a disease that many people fear more than cancer and some say they would never want to know if they had it,” Karlawish said. “And yet he’s willing to get up and talk to the world about what it’s like to have Alzheimer’s.”
Don, a scientist by trade, values the importance of research and has agreed to become a brain donor to continue to participate even after death. Learn more about brain donation here.