… a show she loved to watch. Thelma and JJ were having one of their usual spats when her mother turned to her and said, “That’s a cute little old girl.” It was a devastating blow that made all too clear the progression of the disease.
“It hit me so hard that my mother did not know that was really me, and it was her that put me on that show and she gave me the face of Thelma. So I said right then and there, I am going to use the same face to put on Alzheimer’s and fight with that! I’m going to fight and hopefully educate and make aware of what it is and what this thing has going on, the characteristics of it, and hopefully we can find an answer to slow it down and stop it eventually.”
Alzheimer’s disease affects African Americans twice as much as any other disease, and is the sixth leading cause of death among African-American women.
Stanis is now a national spokesperson for Alzheimer’s and has established her own Foundation, RememberingtheGoodTimes.org in honor of her mother who passed away in 2011.
