Anne
“My mother recently passed away from Alzheimer’s,” said Simon. “It’s something that’s extremely important to me. I understand what it does to people’s lives. It made a huge impact on me and my entire family. The country as a whole has to take a good, hard look at finding a cure for this disease. It’s become a mission for my family. We’re in the health and wellness sector of business; my husband’s company, Hain Celestial, makes natural and organic food products for the world. The way the world eats has changed in the past twenty years. If we can change the way the world eats, we hope that through science, research and funding we can find something to help cure this disease. We’re now all following a trend on lifestyle. As my husband says, ‘It’s not a fad; it’s a way of life.’ Yes, we set the platform for that, but there needs to be more research done on the scientific end.”
The theme for this year’s Gala is “Our Future Is Crystal Clear”, a reference to a world devoid of Alzheimer’s, the association’s ultimate goal.
“I’ve been doing this gala for 32 years,” said Khan. “Our founder, Jerome Stone, passed away this past winter at age 101. He started the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of his first wife who died of the disease. The Gala is in memory of my mother, and this year also in memory of Jerry Stone. It will be held at Cipriani 42nd Street on October 27th. Daryl Simon and the committee members have all worked very hard to help advance this cause. Research is progressing but we’re not there yet. We just had a conference in Washington D.C. last week; the feeling is that patients will probably need to take a combination of medications, a cocktail. The good news is that the pharmaceutical companies are reengaging themselves in finding a cure. It’s interesting because Alzheimer’s is number six on the list of diseases, but it would probably be number four if it were properly diagnosed. Too often on the death certificate it will say, ‘died of pneumonia,’ but the deceased will have had Alzheimer’s, and with Alzheimer’s you can get pneumonia. There would be more attention paid if more Alzheimer’s deaths were recognized as such.”
Guests, including Nicole Miller, Dennis Basso, Somers Farkas and Sharon Bush, enjoyed the bucolic surroundings of the McInerney ‘s grounds and the extensive raw bar.
“I know a lot of people whose families have been devastated by Alzheimer’s and there are millions more every year,” said Jay McInerney. “We have made progress in terms of research and treatment since I’ve been involved. My wife has been involved for 25 years now. I’m happy and honored to join in and do what I can.”
