Above: Ryan Azadpour spends time with his grandfather, who has Alzheimer's.
By Troy Schwindt
Ryan Azadpour’s skating journey has taken him to the top tier of the junior ranks, while providing him with the impetus to rally his skating friends and others to a cause close to his heart.
The 18-year-old from Portland, Oregon, has helped start a campaign to support those caregivers of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. His experience helping his grandfather cope with Alzheimer’s sparked an idea to reach out to his fellow skaters and other caregivers to create messages of encouragement, support and gratitude.
“When my grandmother died in Iran, my grandfather didn’t have any support left there; they both were in assisted living at the time,” Azadpour, a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in 2024, said. “We moved him here with us and my brother and I took care of him after school until our parents came from work.
“When his condition worsened, our house wasn’t a safe place to take care of him, so we moved him to a memory care center right next to our house. We visited him every day. So the one and a half to two years of being with him is how I got the caregiver experience.”
Azadpour thus became more interested in neuroscience in general and Alzheimer’s specifically.
“I started a chapter of the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s at my school, which is based on a [national] organization,” he said. “I also started an organization with one of my friends [Daniel Ahranjani] who had a similar experience called Lighthouse for Care.”
Both organizations promote awareness of Alzheimer’s and dementia and encourage support of those who are caregivers.
Azadpour, also while taking care of his grandfather, immersed himself in caregiving and support groups in which he learned a lot, he said.
“I found a lot of ways to get through the stress and the frustration of caregiving,” Azadpour said. “Like taking deep breaths, going on a walk outside, preferably with my grandfather with me, because that’s what calmed him the most. But before I was able to reach out to these caregivers and the support groups and memory facilities, I first joined support group meetings through an organization called Hope For Dementia, and they welcomed me there even though most of those were double or triple my age. At first, I was scared, because I felt like all my experiences were dwarfed compared to theirs, but they made me feel safe and accepted and I was able to share my story with them as well.
“It was kind of like a safe space. We talked about dealing with the guilt from caregiving. Like if you snap back at your loved one or patient, and some of them get to different stages and be able to tell whether someone is in severe cognitive decline or … it was educational and helped me try and find a place to understand caregivers more from my brief experience.”
Being part of the skating community and one who represents the U.S. National Junior Team, Azadpour said he felt he and his fellow competitors could make an even bigger impact in the caregiver community.
“So I came up with a project idea called “Glide Together: Skaters and Caregivers” in honor of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in September,” Azadpour said.
While obviously conceding that caregiving is much harder than being a skater, both are relatable in terms of having to overcome difficult and discouraging times and setbacks.
“I decided that what they needed most after visiting tons of memory care and support groups was encouragement and support,” Azadpour said. “I thought affirmation cards would be the most meaningful. I reached out to many of my fellow skaters and other caregivers to contribute videos and written messages. They answered questions such as ‘What helps you through a bad day?’ and ‘What inspires you to keep going?’ I just saw such a correlation with both skating and caregiving.”
Azadpour’s friends responded in a big way, with more than 50 skaters from the U.S. and internationally sending in videos and written messages of support. His fellow skaters who contributed included Jacob Sanchez, Patrick Blackwell, Elyce Lin-Gracey, Josephine Lee, the ice dance team of Leah Neset and Artem Markelov, Scottish skater Mark Hanretty and the South Korean ice dance team of Hannah Lim and Ye Quan, just to name a few.
“Looking at this project in total, I’m just so impressed and amazed by the responses of all of the skaters who came immediately to this cause; it was amazing,” he said. “Their messages were heartwarming, and it showed just how relatable these experiences were for them and the caregivers as well.
“I didn’t expect it to be as successful, because there’s a lot of raw video filming to make sure you get the right cut,” Azadpour added. “I’m grateful for all the help for this project, including Divya Harriet and her Instagram accounts that helped get the word out. And now our final goal is putting all of these into affirmation cards, both from skaters and caregivers, that will be placed in boxes and delivered throughout Oregon to support groups and memory cares.”
Azadpour plans to continue his crusade as he climbs the competitive skating ladder and pursues his academic goals.
To learn more about Lighthouse For Care and the Glide Together Project, go to www.lighthouseforcare.com.
