BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Age is just a number.
Judy Benjamin believes that. As she likes to say, “You don’t have to curl up on the couch if you’re turning 65 or 70 or 75 or 80.”
Yet at 81, Benjamin is doing something most of us wouldn’t attempt at any age — walking from one end of the U.S. to the other.
Benjamin’s walk, which brought her through Bradford and Union counties on Nov. 7 and had her staying the night at Keystone Heights’ The Inn at Palmetto, is about sharing a wonderful story about her life — the fact that lifestyle changes have led to a reversal of early onset Alzheimer’s symptoms.
More importantly, she hopes sharing her wonderful story will lead to others being able to share wonderful stories about their lives.
“I’ve come a very, very long way,” Benjamin said in an interview with the Telegraph-Times-Monitor on the morning of her departure from the Inn at Palmetto. “I just want to stay on this path, and I want to encourage other people to get on the path and stay healthy — physical health and mental health.”
Rising from the ‘depths of despair’
Benjamin was familiar with the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s. Her mother struggled with the disease for 20 years before passing away.
When Benjamin was diagnosed with early onset symptoms at the age of 67, she said, “I was just in the depths of despair. I was so depressed. It was like, ‘What can I do? I don’t want to put my son through what my sister and I went through with our mother.’”
Benjamin was having trouble remembering things such as her phone number and her grandchildren’s names. She got lost when driving.
A friend of Benjamin’s recommended she see Dr. Dale Bredesen, a neurologist who developed a protocol he believes reverses the cognitive decline in those with Alzheimer’s.
Benjamin, who lives in Norfolk, Virginia, went to San Francisco, where she met with Bredesen for 2.5 hours, trying to record his theories that he was describing for her.
“At that point (in my life), I couldn’t remember anything,” Benjamin said. “I was furiously writing notes.”
The result was that Benjamin became Bredesen’s first patient to follow the neurologist’s protocol, which consists of such things as exercising, eating right and getting good sleep.
Benjamin said she’s careful not to stay she’s been “cured” of Alzheimer’s. As she put it, “you never know what’s around the corner.”
What she does know is that the symptoms she once had are now gone.
“I don’t have foggy thinking anymore,” Benjamin said. “I can read a newspaper article and remember it. When I get to the end of a column, I can remember what it was about. I couldn’t do that when I had the symptoms. I’d have to start at the beginning again.”
The difference in her life inspired Benjamin to become a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach.
“I studied hard and passed their tests,” Benjamin said. “I have a health-coaching class. I specialize in brain health.”
Bredesen’s protocol isn’t universally accepted as having a positive effect on those with Alzheimer’s. Some skepticism has centered around Benjamin herself, who said she’s heard neurologists and doctors say she’s simply an exceptional case or that she didn’t really have early onset Alzheimer’s symptoms.
However, Benjamin said “hundreds” have shared stories like hers via the Alzheimer’s Survivors Foundation, which she created.
“That is something to note,” Benjamin said.
Ocean to ocean
The idea for a cross-country walk occurred to Benjamin while she was, of all things, walking.
“I was out for a short walk. I like walking,” Benjamin said. “I thought, ‘You know? I bet I could walk across the United States. Wouldn’t that be something? I could carry a message.’”
The more she mulled the idea over, the more she became convinced she could do it.
“It’s really just putting one foot in front of the other,” Benjamin said.
Finally, what was an idea in late 2024 became reality on April 5, 2025, in San Diego, with the end goal of reaching St. Augustine.
“I started by dipping my toes in the Pacific, with the objective of dipping my toes in the Atlantic Ocean,” Benjamin said.
When she stayed the night in Keystone, Benjamin had walked 2,700-plus miles. Those miles consisted of walking up to 12 hours a day prior to the time change. She’s recently been walking six to seven hours a day.
Benjamin said she’s had good weather for most of her trip, with only a few days where it rained too hard to do any walking. On those days, she stayed inside the RV that accompanies her. The RV, which has had multiple drivers along the way, carries supplies and offers a place to sleep when she can’t find a motel or inn.
If the rain’s not too bad, she’ll walk in it — up to a point.
“I’ve got a huge, orange poncho that I put on,” Benjamin said. “I walk as long as I can stand wet feet.”
Besides the weather, Benjamin’s only concerns have been keeping an eye on traffic as well as being on the lookout for loose dogs. She said she loves animals and isn’t afraid of them, but admitted “it’s a little scary when six dogs surround you.”
“I’ve started carrying dog biscuits in my pocket,” Benjamin said. “I also have walking sticks. At one point in Arizona, when I had a bunch of (dogs) surround me, I just beat the sticks together — metal sticks — and went in a circle. They looked at me like, ‘This lady’s crazy. We’re not going to bother her.”
Besides putting one foot in front of the other, Benjamin passed the time listening to classical music, podcasts and books.
“I’ve listened to all of Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries, and I’ve listened to historical novels and biographies — Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt. It’s just been so joyful.”
On her stops along the way, Benjamin has passed out cards with information about her and the Alzheimer’s Survivors Foundation. She has shared her story with others and often has had no trouble finding someone else whose life has been touched by Alzheimer’s in some way. Benjamin said she was at a convenience store when she learned a man in line with her had a grandmother who passed away with Alzheimer’s. The clerk behind the counter then said she had an aunt with Alzheimer’s.
“It’s just amazing how many people are suffering with this,” Benjamin said.
If you’d like to learn more about Benjamin and her journey, visit judywalks.com, which also features links to her social-media sites.
For more on her foundation, please visit alzheimerssurvivors.org.
When Benjamin dips her toes in the Atlantic Ocean in St. Augustine, it will bring an end to a routine of walking all day every day that has lasted over half a year.
“I have no idea what I will do next because I am so used to getting up every day and putting on my walking shoes and going out the door,” Benjamin said, adding, “I think getting my body used to not walking — that’s going to be a challenge. It will be quite different. I might have to take up sleepwalking.”
Whatever she does, you can be sure it won’t be curled up on a couch.
“I’m looking forward to an active future,” Benjamin said. “I’ve got lots of plans on continuing to spread the word. Who knows? I might walk across another country.”
