The official Tragically Hip long johns — gifted to him by the band — are a recent addition to Steve McNeil’s National Skate Day of Alzheimer’s subzero Canadian winter gear.
McNeill, 61, ran the annual 19:26 marathon on January 14 at Springer Market Square in Kingston, Ontario. Wearing his new jacket, signature AC/DC pants, chuuk and gloves donated by Canada Goose, he raised awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s communities across Canada.
Then came the pinch-me moment. Hip guitarists Paul Langlois and Rob Baker stopped by to see him.
“I feel great. I had a great weekend,” McNeill said, staying fine days later. “Paul skated with me and he and Rob gave me a pair of Tragically Hip long johns with the logo above the heart. It’s very real.”
Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic, neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, causing loss of thinking and memory over time, says the Alzheimer’s Association of Canada. It is the most common type of dementia.
Steve McNeill, 30-year Etobicoke Hockey Referee and Canada Post employee, will host the 19:26 Alzheimer’s National Skating Marathon in Kingston, Ontario. He asks Canadians to support the cause by attending skate parties or donating to local Alzheimer’s associations at 1926skate.com.
McNeill is asking Canadians to donate $19.26 to his website, 1926skate.com, to help local Alzheimer’s communities.
This is the Etobicoke Hockey Referee and Mailman’s 35th skating marathon in 30 years, as well as the first National Skating Day for Alzheimer’s.
“People saw me on the news and said they wanted to sign my hoodie,” McNeill said of his Kingston Marathon. It feels so cool to come over and talk about my grandpa and grandma[Alzheimer’s]and I’m lucky to be doing what I do.”
For the past decade, McNeil has skated the marathon at Nathan Phillips Square every December 15th, the birthday of his late mother, Eunice, who was born in 1926. Eunice had Alzheimer’s disease for nearly 15 years.
Recently, McNeil presented Mayor John Torrey with a supporter’s signed hoodie after skating 19 minutes and 26 seconds each day for 29 days at another rink in Toronto.
McNeil moved the marathon to January 14 to improve ice conditions and coincide with Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. He estimates that his skates have raised more than $200,000 for Alzheimer’s communities across Canada.
“Etobicoke’s skating was amazing,” said Judy Brandow, who organized the 24 marathons and Jan. 14 skate party at Etobicoke’s Colonel Samuel Smith Park Skate Trail. “I think there were hundreds of people there.”
Dr. Sharon Cohen is a neurologist, medical director and principal investigator for the Toronto Memory Program. The program and its staff have made significant contributions to her over 100 drug treatment studies for Alzheimer’s disease.
McNeil is sponsored by the Toronto Memory Program, a leader in memory and brain research.
Dr. Sharon Cohen, a behavioral neurologist specializing in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and medical director of the Toronto Memory Program since 1996, and her research staff team are dedicated to developing better treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. I have been working on the development.
“A role model for all of us” is what Cohen called McNeill.
“With his relentless passion and passion for fundraising, he does what he knows and loves so that people living with Alzheimer’s can receive better care and support,” Cohen said in an email. rice field. “Steve has witnessed the devastating impact Alzheimer’s disease has had on his family. He is determined to make the future brighter for others.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of lecanemab this month marks a “pivotal moment in the treatment of this devastating disease,” said the internationally respected man with 30 years of experience in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, care and clinical practice. said Cohen, a key opinion leader in research.
Lecanemab is an antibody that targets aggregated amyloid, a major toxic protein in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, Cohen said.
“Not only does lecanemab potently clear amyloid from the brain, it also consistently slows cognitive decline in the early stages of the disease, helping individuals remain independent, improving quality of life and reducing caregiver burden. We mitigate it and maintain it over the long term, which was not possible before,” Cohen said in an email. “This will bring great hope to patients, families and the Alzheimer’s disease community at large and will spur further treatment breakthroughs.”
The story behind the story: Reporter Tamara Shepherd spoke with Steve McNeill about the recent National Skate Day for Alzheimer’s in Kingston, and Sharon, a behavioral neurologist and medical director of his sponsor the Toronto Memory Program, said: To Dr. Cohen for his efforts and treatment of the early stages of the disease.
