TESTIMONY OF JOHNNY ORR WEST DES MOINES, IA
Presented to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations United States Senate March 23, 2004
Good morning Senator Harkin, Senator DeWine and members of the Subcommittee. Romie and I are honored to be in Washington and are especially glad to see our good friend, Senator Harkin, once again.
Romie and I are here today to do whatever we can to help in the fight against Alzheimer's. Like almost everyone else in this hearing room, we have been touched directly by Alzheimer's disease. We initially became Alzheimer advocates after a very good friend of mine lost his wife to the disease. In the fall of 2002, I was honored to be selected as the celebrity chair of the Alzheimer's Association Greater Iowa Chapter Memory Walk. About a month after the Memory Walk, Romie was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She was 73 years old.
The diagnosis was surprising since Romie was in great shape and didn't appear to be having any health problems. She exercised regularly and had maintained an active lifestyle since retiring from her job as a physical education teacher in 1980. There was no history of Alzheimer's disease in her family. Although two of our daughters noticed that Romie occasionally had difficulty recalling names or events, we both assumed that the memory lapses were part of the normal aging process. We mentioned the memory problems to Romie's general physician at her annual physical in October 2002. A memory test indicated signs of dementia and we were referred to an Alzheimer's specialist named Dr. Bender. After additional tests, Dr. Bender concluded that Romie was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Bender immediately started Romie on one of the Alzheimer drugs currently available, vitamins E and C and ginko biloba. Dr. Bender also encouraged Romie to keep exercising and watch her diet, in addition to doing activities to stimulate her brain.
It has been about 18 months since her diagnosis and Romie is doing quite well. Her Alzheimer's seems to be progressing slowly. Although she no longer drives, she still cooks, does laundry and maintains the finances for one of our three homes. She plays golf, although less often than she has in the past, and has no trouble keeping up with our six grandchildren. She reads a lot, continues to do our holiday cards and participates in our family golf tournament each summer. We go out to dinner regularly with friends and travel between our homes in Iowa and Florida. Romie may not be able to recall what we had for lunch but she easily remembers basketball games from my days at Michigan and Iowa State. She still loves basketball almost as much as I do and we're looking forward to attending the NCAA championship in a few weeks. We haven't missed an NCAA tournament in 48 years.
We've learned a lot about Alzheimer's disease since Romie was diagnosed and we have many reasons to be hopeful. Significant advances in medical research have resulted in new and promising treatments. The Alzheimer drug that Romie takes is one of five prescriptions available in pharmacies today. Improved diagnostic tools are helping doctors diagnose Alzheimer's earlier and with greater accuracy, allowing individuals like Romie to maintain their quality of life for as long as possible. Scientists are engaged in additional research to develop strategies for slowing the progression of the disease process. The goal of a world without Alzheimer's disease is within reach.
In order to realize a future without Alzheimer's disease, we must ensure that the federal government maintains its commitment to fund promising research. Romie and I thank this committee and especially you Senator Harkin for your outstanding leadership in the fight to increase funding for research at the National Institutes of Health. We recognize that your challenge this year is especially difficult and pledge to do whatever we can to help you continue the momentum that has brought us to this historic point. For our children and grandchildren and for the families of the people sitting in this room, we cannot afford to back down now.
I faced a lot of tough opponents in 44 years of coaching and I'm proud to say that I never lost a game without a fight. Alzheimer's is a tough opponent but we can beat it. We have recruited a dream team of the best scientists and we have a gameplan that will lead us to victory. In order to execute this gameplan, we need an additional $40 million in funding this year for clinical trials to identify treatments that can slow or halt the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease.
On behalf of our entire family, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to be here today. Romie would now like to say a few words to conclude our testimony.
