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Teen ice dancing champion Morgan Matthews and her family had a tough time coping with her grandmother's Alzheimer's disease -- partly because it's such a mysterious condition. "There isn't a lot of information out there on it," explains Morgan. "It's not talked about much, so people don't often realize how many of us have encountered it in some way."

For Morgan, who won the 2005 junior world championship with her partner Maxim Zavozin, and who was one of the alternates to the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team, the struggle with her grandmother's condition was more than just a personal one.

"As a teenager, you get caught between two generations for this sort of thing," she explains. "I had to take care of my grandmother, but I also needed to look after my mother as she dealt with it."

Morgan's grandmother passed away in 2000, but the skater's dedication to helping spread awareness about the disease only grew. She contacted the  

Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA)

  with an idea for a special event called Skate From the Heart, which took place for the first time in Washington, D.C. in 2006. Several Olympians as well as world and national medalists performed during halftime at a Washington Capitals ice hockey game, and a portion of the ticket sales benefited the AFA.

"We put on a great show and raised awareness for a lot of people. I'd like to make it an annual event," she says. "I encourage other teens dealing with Alzheimer's to visit www.alzfnd.com. There is a great online forum where you can communicate with other teens. It's a wonderful way to get involved and help with the future."


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Paul D. Rosevear is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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