Why we support Alzheimer’s research.
At CONTEXT Studios, we donate a portion of the proceeds of every documentary to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada. Our decision to support this organization is personal: Our founder’s maternal grandmother died of Alzheimer’s. Her name was Margaret Tamo.
Her illness developed in the early 1990s, when little was known about dementia, and when it was hard to find the right care and treatment for what she was experiencing. While Alzheimer’s eventually took her life, it took most of her memories and stories long before that.
Her legacy is one of love, strength, and generosity. Her story is one of poverty, courage, and triumph. Kindness ran deep in Margaret, and while there is no video or audio recordings to remember her by, this is her story.
A commitment to feed the hungry
Margaret grew up poor in Greek Macedonia and she often went hungry. Her father left for Canada in 1901 with the goal of making enough money to bring the family over, so except for occasional visits, her mother was essentially a single parent. To make ends meet, Margaret’s mother sent her to a neighbouring village at the age of six to take care of a family’s newborn baby so that its parents could work in the fields. When her father eventually brought the family to Canada in the 1920s (when she was 13), Margaret was sent to work so her brother could go to school.
The adversities she faced during childhood stuck with her. No matter how little money or food she had for herself, Margaret was committed to helping (and feeding) others in need.
Our founder’s mother Lovie vividly remembers coming home for lunch to their Junction-area house on Mulock Avenue in the 1940s. She would often find her mother feeding homeless men who were “riding the rails” across the country. Their house was a block away from the stockyards and train tracks, and they only later found out that their laneway gate had been marked with the drawing of a cat to indicate to others “kind woman lives here.”
This story is a proud part of our founder’s family’s legacy, one that they tell again and again. Hearing about her grandmother’s selflessness and giving nature has taught her entire family lessons they will carry forward.
Margaret’s selflessness continued throughout her life. While she was raising her three children and managing a household, she also cared for three elderly family members at the same time: her mother and her husband’s father and grandmother.
Remaining happy and grateful until the very end
When she began to lose her independence, our founder’s family didn’t understand what was happening or why. What mattered was that she needed help, and they were committed to supporting her, just as she had done for everyone else throughout her entire life.
Lovie, her sister and her brother took turns taking her into their homes and caring for her for as long as they could, treating her with kindness, dignity and respect. Only when a psychiatrist diagnosed her with Alzheimer’s, and it finally became clear that she required more support, did they move her to a hospital. Still, someone was there with her every day, talking to her, caring for her and telling her stories to remind her of who she was.
While Margaret died illiterate, she was an intelligent woman with a knack for growing what money her family earned and investing in real estate. And despite the many challenges she faced, she remained happy and grateful. These strengths and values have been passed through her family from generation to generation.
Honouring her legacy
Our commitment to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada is about honouring Margaret’s legacy and knowing that she would want to prevent others from suffering the way she did. When she reached the point when she might have wanted to reflect on the stories of her life, she was no longer able to.
We are proud to be helping others preserve their family’s memories (and history), and at the same time contributing to research that will help people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Doctors, advocates, and resources worth noting
The knowledge that Alzheimer’s can run in families is frightening for many who have lost a loved one to the disease. However, its encouraging that there are factors we can control. This knowledge is part of what led our founder to adopt a healthy lifestyle and become interested in the work of pioneering doctors and advocates in this area.
In this episode of the Doctor’s Farmacy podcast, Dr. Mark Hyman talks about The 5 Main Ways To Prevent Alzheimer’s & Dementia. He explains that it’s never too early to start protecting your brain, and that the earlier you start, the better.
And while it’s not a silver bullet, it’s also not rocket science: by deliberately making lifestyle choices we already know to be good for us in so many ways—eating right, exercising regularly, reducing stress, sleeping well, and taking appropriate supplements—we can also improve our cognitive function and protect our brains, making them more resilient and, in many cases, helping to keep dementia at bay for as long as possible.
It may not be rocket science, but it is science. In that podcast Dr. Hyman explains the mechanisms, compounds, nutrients and bodily processes that are affected by these lifestyle changes and why they can lead directly to improved cognitive function. Researchers are learning more every day about what causes Alzheimer’s and dementia and what we can do to prevent it. Other popular health advocates that you can learn more from include Dr. Dale Bresden, Dr. Lisa Mosconi and Dhru Prohit.
Sacrifices made for future generations
It’s sad that Margaret wasn’t able to benefit from today’s research. In fact, the life she led ran counter to many of the latest health recommendations. She led a stressful life, she didn’t prioritize sleep, eat a balanced diet, or exercise. That was normal in her time, and nobody knew then what we know now about how much we can control our own health and wellbeing.
Andrea launched CONTEXT Studios to help as many people as possible document (and learn more about) their family history just as she has recently done with hers. It’s also a tribute to her four grandparents, who made the courageous decision to emigrate to Canada. They might have done it out of necessity, but she’s clear that she would not be the person she is today (with all the education and other privileges that she has had), if not for the sacrifices and choices made by her ancestors. And for that, she will be forever grateful.
Margaret Tamo and her granddauther Leata Lekushoff.