Rockets’ boss raising awareness for battle against Alzheimer’s

The Kelowna Rockets are joining the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Rockets owner, president and general manager Bruce Hamilton will be speaking Wednesday at Lace Up for New Alzheimer’s Treatments, an informal session on Alzheimer’s disease at the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna.

Lace Up is an offshoot of Huddle Up for New Alzheimer’s Treatments, a campaign featuring retired NFL players Joe Rose, Solomon Wilcots, Joey Harrington, Ron Pitts, Christian Fauria and Steve Tasker.

The goal is to create awareness about Alzheimer’s, as well as stress the importance of clinical research participation.

“It’s a sad, sad disease,” Hamilton said. “You see how it affects people.

“Every home game, when I leave my seat and go down to the concourse to say ‘good night,’ to people, I run into so many older couples and there are several who I know are dealing with Alzheimer’s.

“For the one spouse, you can often tell it’s been a big night out. At the same time, you can see that it’s sometimes been a long night out for the other spouse. When I was asked about doing this, my thoughts immediately went to those people. This is something I definitely want to put some time into.”

Dr. Kim Christie, the director of research at Okanagan Clinical Trials, is also slated to speak on Wednesday.

In a news release Christie said: “No new drugs have been approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in over a decade. We need patients and caregivers to participate in late-stage clinical research programs in order to get new potential treatments over the goal-line.”

Hamilton added: “I know, talking to the medical people involved in this project, there two or three things coming down the line that they are very excited about.”

According to the news release, Alzheimer’s affects more than 700,000 people in Canada, and, by 2031, it is projected that more than 1.4 million will be living with the disease.

Wilcots, in a news release, explained: “Bruce Hamilton is an impactful addition to this campaign.

“People look to athletic leaders such as Bruce to provide guidance and information regarding heath and rehabilitation.”

For more information, check out alzheimersglobalstudy.com.