NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk woman walked 550 miles across England in August and September to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease — a devastating illness she has been living with for 15 years.
Alzheimer's runs in Dr. Judy Benjamin's family; her mother and her mother's siblings were all diagnosed with the form of dementia that affects memory and cognition.
Benjamin was diagnosed when she experienced symptoms at 67.
"I think it's one of the absolute worst things your doctor can tell you is you have Alzheimer's," Benjamin said. "(I thought) I've got one choice and that is I'm gonna fight this thing."
She tells News 3 that she flew from Norfolk to meet a neurologist in California who was looking into the connection between brain inflammation and Alzheimer's. Recent studies and articles — through the National Institutes of Health and American Brain Foundation, for example — have shown increasing evidence that inflammation can lead brain cells to break down, leading to the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
To fight it, Benjamin said she quickly, but gradually, changed her lifestyle: better food and exercise, tests to find out which vitamins she lacked.
As a medical anthropologist, Benjamin says she worked around the world for organizations like USAID and the United Nations. Stress and little sleep were a part of life until she retired during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was able to take the stress out of her life and says as a result of her lifestyle changes, she has kept her symptoms at bay 15 years later.
After walking across the United States last year to raise awareness, the 82-year-old laced up her hiking shoes and trekked across England starting August 1. She says the walk was an opportunity to celebrate her success with Alzheimer's and spread a message of hope to others facing the disease.
"In the United Kingdom, the number one chronic illness that causes a death is Alzheimer's. So there's a huge problem there, and I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to get attention and to spread the word," Benjamin said.
The journey took her from Lands End in Cornwall, east to Canterbury in Kent and northwest to the finish in London.
"I made it and I feel great. Didn't have any aches or pains, so I think that's pretty good for an 82-year-old," Benjamin said. "I had this romantic notion of the white cliffs of Dover. So I was able to walk along the cliffs."
She was also able to stop and meet people and explain her story.
Next, she says she's considering walks across France or Japan, but in the meantime is focusing on her foundation. The Alzheimer's Survivors Foundation aims to find more people like her — those who aren't cured but are finding success and willing to share their stories.
"Just changing a lifestyle alone, in other words, eating well, sleeping well, exercising is not going to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms. It's much more detailed than that," Benjamin said, but insists there is hope if caught early enough. "I'm really wanting to bring hope to people and know that there are things you can do."
"Obviously I don't suggest that everyone walk across the country, but what I do say is you have to move every day."
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