We cannot let the news of the death of Dr. Francisco Lopera, a distinguished figure in medicine, science and research, pass without expressing our sadness at the loss of a wonderful human being, full of knowledge, wisdom and experience gathered throughout his life.
The memories remain alive in the minds of his colleagues, friends, patients and family. Yet a question remains: will we be able to keep building Dr. Lopera’s dream, his constant search for answers for the thousands of people who suffer from a disease as devastating as Alzheimer’s?
That knowledge, born in the north of our beloved Antioquia, deepens the pain of his loss. Santa Rosa de Osos, his hometown, will miss one of its most illustrious sons, who for 40 years devoted himself to searching for the brain factors behind the memory loss of our ancestors, through his pioneering research on hereditary Alzheimer’s in Antioquian families. Who will take on the responsibility of continuing to research the brain genetics of those of us from northern Antioquia? We may fear that no one will, or hope that his findings will remain the foundation of future studies.
My grandfather César, born in Entrerríos, with roots in Carolina del Príncipe and Santa Rosa de Osos, tall, sturdy, with crystal-blue eyes, like one of those young Europeans from a magazine, used to say: “I ask my God not to take my memory away.” And thankfully, He didn’t. He lived 90 years of magnificent stories that made our imaginations soar, like the time in his youth when he set off on an adventure to the Valle del Cauca because the woman he loved was going to marry someone else.
There will always be more to do! To the Neuroscience team at our alma mater, the Universidad de Antioquia, we send our condolences and encouragement, because they cannot give up: they must carry on their mentor’s legacy, because they are a hope for the whole world. While you continue researching to find that long-awaited cure, we at Reloj de Arena, the only center in Medellín that cares for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, a field we have specialized in for the past 10 years, will keep learning so we can care with humanity, responsibility, dedication and empathy for adults living with illness, and even more so for their caregivers. This is an act of love, an act of solidarity!
Finally, we must all come together so that patients with neurodegenerative diseases are not stigmatized. They are “not crazy.” Let’s not use derogatory words, and let’s not be aggressive because “they don’t understand us.” Our call goes out to those who see a care home or a residence as a business opportunity: this must go further. Every one of these places in Medellín, in Antioquia and throughout the country must be qualified, must train its staff, and must operate within the law and regulations.
Those of us who do things right try to meet every requirement. Those who don’t often go unnoticed and are never visited by regulatory authorities, and in those places it is the patients whose rights are being violated.
Protecting patients with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is everyone’s task, in honor of Dr. Francisco Lopera Restrepo. May he rest in peace.
