Lombard Restaurant Gives Back To Regular Customer
LOMBARD, Ill. (CBS) -- For Angela Liberty, 47, familiar faces and places are vital.
Two years ago, she was diagnosed with frontotemperal dementia, a disease similar to Alzheimer's that is degenerative, terminal and untreatable.
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"It's a really brutal disease. She has the disease on the inside but not the outside, for now," said husband Joe Liberty.
Joe Liberty says he started noticing a change in his wife's behavior about 5 years ago.
"She stopped wanting to do the things she always enjoyed," he said. "Irritability -- she used to love sports and then all the sudden she stopped showing an interest in sports. We got diagnosed 2 years ago, that's when the disease really took off. It's hard for her to communicate now," he said.
The couple sits at the bar at Rock Bottom Brewery in Lombard several times a week, a place he says makes her feel safe.
"As time went on, this became one of the only places she'd go and feel comfortable," said Joe Liberty.
Now, the staff at Rock Bottom has decided to give back.
On Thursday, they will be brewing a special beer in her name. 25 cents of every Angie's Ale purchased over the next month will go to the Alzheimer's Association.
Her husband Joe says her life and her fight now has a purpose.
"I couldn't believe they were going to do this. It proves to me what kind of people they are here. It's all about the awareness and this means a lot."
"If you can impact a small charity or one person, it means a lot," said Rock Bottom Brewery Banquet Coordinator Nicole Wagner.
"Rock Bottom as a company is really involved in giving back to the community. We do a number of fundraisers throughout the year. It just made sense to partner with a charity that effects one of our dear regulars," said general manager Jennifer Verde.
There will be T-shirts, a special logo and a special beer made in her name.
Angela's diagnosis is terminal and there is no treatment. She has trouble communicating but Joe Liberty believes she knows there is love and charity all around. He says her life now has a larger purpose.
"We weren't private about the disease so to do an event like this, absolutely, anything to raise awareness," he said.
The "Angie's Ale" even will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Rock Bottom Brewery in the Yorktown Center, near Highland Avenue and Butterfield Road in Lombard.
The staff at Rock Bottom will also take part in the walk to end Alzheimer's in Naperville next month.
