He called her Pearl, she called him Benny but their names were Ruth and Harry. On a good day she said, “We’re not married, you know, we just pretend we are.”

Most of the time they called each other by their late spouses names. Neither of them could remember what they did the day before. Photographs scattered around their tiny assisted living apartment helped them to recognize people. Sometimes, not always.

They were, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, among the 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, which is the most frequent cause of dementia accounting for 70 percent of all cases in Americans aged 71 and older.

Alzheimer’s disease is the seventh leading cause of death (across all ages) in the United States and the fifth-leading cause of death for those age 65 and older. One can experience onset as young as early 30s.

While other major causes of death continue to experience significant declines, those from Alzheimer’s disease have continued to rise.

We all forget a name now and then. We all walk into a room looking for something and forget what it was we were looking for. We all misplace our car keys.

However, if we don’t remember what the keys are for, we don’t know our own children’s names or who they are, we probably have the onset of dementia.

Following are the 10 signs of Alzheimer’s. If you have any suspicions or questions call your health care provider. He or she will be better at diagnosis than you or your family.

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life.

2. Challenges in planning or solving problems.

3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure.

4. Confusion with time or place.

5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.

6. New problems with words in speaking or writing.

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.

8. Decreased or poor judgment.

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities.

10. Changes in mood and personality.

Almost 14.9 million Americans provide unpaid care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s or another dementia is often very difficult and caregivers experience high levels of emotional stress and depression as a result. Care giving also has a negative impact on the health, employment, income and financial security of many caregivers.

Here we are so lucky to have the Daybreak Center providing respite care. Dementia patients are engaged in activities that help with cognitive skills while caregivers get time to themselves.

But, like everything it comes with a price.

A fundraising event is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, at the Panida at 6 p.m.

The award winning, touching film “Away from Her” will be shown, hors d’oeuvres will be served and a silent auction will be held.

The door prize is a season ticket to the Festival at Sandpoint.

“I thought this was going to be a chick-flick, then I found myself crying,” organizer John Elsa said, “Everyone should see it.”

Elsa said that he enjoys fundraising for the DayBreak Center.

“My life is so much fuller since I became involved,” Elsa added.

“The patients dance and sing and although they’re not living the same life, they’re enjoying themselves.”

Harry/Benny and Ruth/Pearl both willed their bodies to medical research in hopes of finding a cure for this disease. Let’s hope it helped.

Meanwhile, let’s all support the DayBreak Center and enjoy a poignant film at the same time.

Kathy Hubbard is a trustee on Bonner General Hospital Foundation Board. She can be reached at kathyleehubbard@yahoo.com, 264-4029.