Former Attorney With Dementia Leading Charge For Alzheimer's Cure
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Last summer, at just 64 years of age, Jackie Coleman joined a growing list of millions of Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
The one-time prominent Sacramento Attorney's devastating diagnosis of Early-Onset Alzheimer's has given her a new meaning in life. Along with many impacted by the disease, she is working to find a cure.
Coleman says she has a lot to be thankful for despite the life-shattering diagnosis she got in May of last year.
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"I wasn't doing as well at work and I told my doctor... something is wrong with my brain..and she kept saying...oh your brain is fine, your brain is fine," Coleman said.
But her brain was not fine. Within a matter of months Coleman, a successful disability rights attorney who practiced law for 36 years, found herself struggling to what used to come easy.
She soon found herself without her job and on a new path, raising awareness about her debilitating disease.
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"I can tell you still the good news today is that I can still talk," Coleman said.
Coleman will be telling her story this weekend at the Northern California Walk to End Alzheimer's where she'll join some of the other 630,000 Californians who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or Dementia. The disease may have derailed Coleman's life and career, but it didn't kill her spirit.
The 25th Northern California Walk to End Alzheimer's will take place Saturday at Raley Field. CBS13 will be at the event with anchor Tony Lopez as the emcee again this year.
To find out more about the walk and the fight to end Alzheimer's, go to https://www.alz.org/