Woman with Alzheimer's begins 3,000-mile walk to raise awareness

Thirteen years aft her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, a California pistillate is much vibrant than ever — and she has conscionable embarked connected a locomotion crossed America to showcase the powerfulness of enactment successful steadfast aging.

Judy Benjamin, PhD, present 80 years old, acceptable disconnected connected Saturday, April 5, connected a 3,000-mile travel crossed the country. 

Over 5 months, she volition locomotion from San Diego, California, to St. Augustine, Florida.

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"People wonderment wherefore would I enactment myself done this," Benjamin said during an on-camera interrogation with Fox News Digital the evening earlier her locomotion began. "I truly privation to stock with others not to beryllium discouraged."

"Life is present to enjoy, and property is simply a number, but you don't person to beryllium identified and characterized by that number."

Thirteen years aft her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Judy Benjamin (pictured) has  embarked connected a locomotion crossed America to showcase the powerfulness of enactment successful steadfast aging. (Judy Benjamin)

Benjamin was 67 erstwhile she archetypal learned of her early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. 

It wasn’t a surprise, arsenic she comes from a agelong enactment of relatives who were affected by that signifier of dementia. Her mother, 1 of 13 children, was 63 erstwhile she was diagnosed, and 9 of her uncles besides got it.

"So evidently it was precise scary for me," Benjamin said during an on-camera interrogation with Fox News Digital the evening earlier her locomotion began. 

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After her parent passed away, Benjamin — who had a high-pressure occupation astatine the clip — started getting symptoms.

"I was moving overseas and started to get truly disquieted due to the fact that I couldn't retrieve things — adjacent my ain telephone fig oregon locker combination," she recalled. "I got mislaid driving, erstwhile I'm ever truly bully astir direction."

Benjamin was 67 erstwhile she archetypal learned of her early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It wasn’t a surprise, arsenic she comes from a agelong enactment of relatives who were affected by that signifier of dementia.  (Judy Benjamin)

Benjamin besides started to conflict to retrieve her grandchildren’s names, and adjacent had occupation speechmaking a paper article.

"I knew that it was going downhill truly quickly, and I was highly depressed and distressed astir that," she recalled.

"Life is present to enjoy, and property is simply a number, but you don't person to beryllium identified and characterized by that number."

Brain scans showed that Benjamin had a batch of amyloid plaque, arsenic good arsenic immoderate harm to the close and near parietal areas of her brain. 

"I started to get truly panicked," she said.

‘Changed my full lifestyle’

A adjacent person recommended a doc successful California, Dr. Dale Bredesen, who was doing immoderate innovative research connected treating Alzheimer's.

"He explained his mentation that Alzheimer's is not caused by 1 happening — it’s a fig of antithetic assaults connected the brain, which causes it to go inflamed," she said. "And helium said it was antithetic for everybody. Some radical are much affected by immoderate things than others."

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Bredesen worked with Benjamin to assistance her trim the inflammation done a fig of steps.

"So I wrote down what helium recommended, and I flew backmost location and I started implementing it to the missive — I changed my full lifestyle," she shared.

Some of those manner changes progressive optimizing her sleep, ensuring steadfast indoor air, incorporating meditation to trim accent and starting an exercise routine.  

"It’s ace important to travel each of the instructions to bash what you request to do, and not beryllium casual astir it," Benjamin said astir her caller steadfast surviving guidance. (Judy Benjamin)

"I besides wholly changed my diet," Benjamin shared. "I stopped drinking fare soda, stopped eating sugar, and started eating much full foods and natural foods — similar vegetables and fruit."

"It’s ace important to travel each of the instructions to bash what you request to do, and not beryllium casual astir it."

Gradually, she said, things started to change. 

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"It wasn’t overnight; it’s not a magic bullet," she said. "But I realized 1 time that I could retrieve my grandchildren's names again."

After seeing firsthand the affirmative effects of her caller lifestyle, Benjamin felt compelled to assistance others. She yet became a nationalist board-certified health and wellness coach, specializing successful encephalon wellness and neurology.

Judy Benjamin spoke to Fox News Digital astir however adopting a healthier manner has kept her Alzheimer's illness astatine bay. (Judy Benjamin)

Benjamin said she has been doing longer walks to hole for her 3,000-mile walk.

"I deliberation there's truly nary mode to bid for a 3,000-mile walk, but locomotion arsenic overmuch arsenic you can," she said. "I deliberation walking is the astir earthy happening that a quality being tin do. I mean, we were calved to walk."

"I conscionable person to beryllium cautious to support hydrated."

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Benjamin volition beryllium joined connected her cross-country locomotion by a "great enactment team" arsenic good arsenic a movie unit who volition stitchery footage for an upcoming documentary.

"I bash person an RV with a precise comfy bed, ablution and cooking facilities," she said. "Whenever possible, if there's a bully edifice oregon motel, we'll stop, but successful the long, distant stretches, we'll beryllium sleeping successful the RV."

"I deliberation there's truly nary mode to bid for a 3,000-mile walk, but locomotion arsenic overmuch arsenic you can," said Benjamin (not pictured). "I deliberation walking is the astir earthy happening that a quality being tin do. I mean, we were calved to walk." (iStock)

She is besides supported by respective wellness sponsors, including Apollo Health and CareScouts, a supplier of semipermanent attraction and aging solutions. 

The extremity is to sprout for 20 miles per day, depending connected the upwind and terrain.

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"I volition program connected stopping 1 time a week to remainder my body, possibly instrumentality a sauna oregon conscionable footwear back," she said.

"It's beauteous overmuch maine arsenic an individual, but I americium encouraging radical to travel and articulation maine and locomotion with me."

A doc points retired grounds of Alzheimer’s illness connected PET scans astatine the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment astatine Brigham and Women’s Hospital successful Boston, Massachusetts.  (REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo)

Taking action

Today, astatine 80, Benjamin said she feels younger than she did earlier her Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

"I'm precise energetic and healthy — I person large flexibility and I bash person assurance that I volition proceed to beryllium healthy," she told Fox News Digital. 

That said, she added, beingness is "kind of similar a crapshoot."

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"Anything tin hap — I'm precise alert of that, but each my numbers are great. My humor work, my bony studies, everything is successful specified bully signifier that I'm not truly worried. I don't walk overmuch clip connected the negative."

Benjamin hopes that her locomotion volition service arsenic information for others to clasp healthier, much progressive lifestyles for amended brain function.

"I privation radical to spot that nary substance your property oregon circumstances, determination are steps you tin instrumentality to unrecorded a healthier, much vibrant life."

"When I received my diagnosis, I had a prime — I could fto it specify me, oregon I could instrumentality action," she said. 

"I privation radical to spot that, nary substance your property oregon circumstances, determination are steps you tin instrumentality to unrecorded a healthier, much vibrant life. This locomotion is astir proving that possibility."

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People tin travel Benjamin’s travel astatine Judywalks.com, @judywalksamerica connected Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube; and connected CareScout’s Facebook oregon LinkedIn pages.