Hello, Lewy Warriors!

We've reached the end of July so it's time to recap this month and look forward to August and September. To start things off, we'd like to share that we've raised $117,117.05 in total donations! Wow! We're blown away by the support that we continue to receive and are humbled by the generosity of our community. Thank you all for helping us reach milestone after milestone and for being a part of this journey with us. We couldn't do it without you. All funds raised go directly to Dr. Pasternak's Lewy Body Dementia research at the University of Western Ontario and are helping make a difference right here in our own backyard.

Earlier this month, for example, Dr. Pasternak announced the publication of one of his studies into treatment of the disease using a European cough medicine called Ambroxol. It is a potential treatment that shows promising results. You can read more about it by clicking the links below.

The journal - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/2835760
A CTV news report on the study - https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/a-cough-medicine-could-hold-new-hope-in-the-fight-against-dementia-research/

We will not be getting another donation total until the end of the year but are always accepting more donations. Head over to the The LBD Research Fund & Donations page for more information on how to donate.

We've also just finished recording our new episode of "CLBDI Talks", which will be dropping in mid-August. For this episode, we sat down with author Mary Lou Falcone to talk about her memoir, "I Didn't See It Coming: Scenes of Love, Loss and Lewy Body Dementia", which chronicles the Lewy journey shared between her and her soulmate of forty-seven years, the celebrated artist Nicky Zann. We also spoke about her time with the Lewy Body Dementia Resource Center and the power of music and art therapy in relation to dementia. It was an incredible conversation and I highly recommend checking out the episode when it drops. You can learn more about Mary Lou (and purchase her memoir) by visiting her website.

Also in July, we saw the departure of Brian Rainville from our Advisory Board. We thank him for his time, advice, and support of both CLBDI and Bob. We wish him all the best and appreciate everything he did as a member of the Advisory Board. Thank you, Brian. You'll always be part of the CLBDI story.

Looking forward to the next few months, we have a few things in the works! We will still be connecting with various other LBD and dementia platforms in preparation of our meetings with local, provincial, and federal politicians in the fall. We're also slowly putting together our online support group, planning to revamp the site and add a French language option, and looking at hosting another holiday art show to raise funds for LBD research. Our next Loonie Loops Walk is also in the works! We'll be announcing the walk, which will happen in September or October, in the coming weeks. We had so much fun the first time that we are running it back for round two. We wanted to thank Savio, Natalia, and everyone else who joined or supported us on the last Loonie Loops walk because we raised over $300 for LBD research. We can't wait to do it again and will have more information for you soon.

That's all from us for July. We hope you had a great summer so far and your August is filled with sun, relaxation, and joy.

Best,
​Joe

Hello, Lewy Warriors!

Another month has come and gone! We're back with another monthly update on all things CLBDI. Before we get into what we've been up to, we wanted to remind everyone that the deadline to be included in our next donation total update is just around the corner. If you'd like to donate to LBD research in Ontario and help us continue to smash our goals, visit the online donation landing page to donate online or visit The LBD Research Fund & Donations page for information on how to donate via phone, mail, and more.

We will be sharing the new donation total in late July or early August and we're so excited to see how much we've raised together. Visit our Facebook page to see the new total as soon as possible.

June was a busy month for us as we line up meetings with local MPs and MPPs to advocate for better care, less stigma, and a dementia-friendly future. We're also going to be meeting with folks from projects and platforms like the Alzheimer Society Waterloo-Wellington, the Lewy Body Dementia Resource Center, and more. Let us know if you have any burning questions you'd like us to ask or topics you feel like we should cover in our conversations!

This month, we held our first Loonie Loops walk of 2025. It was a wonderful and productive afternoon spent in Uptown Waterloo. We've also raised well over $200 (final count pending) for LBD research at the University of Western Ontario. We had so much fun, in fact, that we are going to do it again in August! We wanted to thank everyone who came to walk with us, everyone who donated, and send a special thanks to Dani and the team at Café 22 for hosting us and supplying us with warm drinks after the walk. More information on our August walk will be coming your way in July, so keep an eye out for that.