Hello everyone! This weekend was one of the most important and meaningful events in my family’s calendar. This weekend, we participated in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s. This walk raises awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research and has the ultimate goal of one day discovering a cure for the disease. For those of you who have been following for a while, you know that Alzheimer’s runs pretty heavily on the maternal side of my family and strikes our females ferociously. I’ve seen it take my great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, a host of great-aunts, and cousins. It’s so prevalent that I find myself a bit nervous when I can’t remember things. I’ve been leaning toward genetic testing to see if this disease may be in my future, but for now I’m moving forward to see if we can’t find a cure.
Yesterday morning, we woke up, donned our purple, and made our way over to the city pavilion to prepare for the walk. I was nervous about getting there on time as our little lady waited until we were just about out the door to decide she wanted to nurse. No amount of formula would sway here. Fifteen minutes later, we were out the door and about forty minutes later made our way to the Pavilion.
Our first stop was the registration table. We confirmed that our names had been included on the walk registry, then walked to the flower table to pick up our Alzheimer’s Walk flower.
Blue represents someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Purple is for someone who has lost a loved one to the disease.
Yellow represents someone who is currently supporting or caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.
Orange is for everyone who supports the cause and vision of a world without Alzheimer’s.
You could only get one flower per walker this year. All of our family members got purple flowers in memory of my great-grandmother and my great-aunt. The fellas went to the breakfast table to grab something to add for breakfast while the baby and I headed to the Alzheimer’s Association table. It’s been on my heart to volunteer for the Memory Walk for quite some time now and they were seeking volunteers for next year’s walk. I eagerly signed up. The volunteers meet once a month. It’s about an hour away, but I’ll more than make that journey in support of the cause. It will be an interesting undertaking for sure. Volunteers arrive at the walk at 5AM! The walk doesn’t start until 10, but registration and activities begin at 8:30. It will be a busy time!
After signing up at the table, we all stood by the stage to listen to people share their stories of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. One guy was diagnosed at 57 years old. Last year there was a young man there who was diagnosed at 31 years old. I could not imagine. I could not imagine. After the sharing of stories, there was a Memory Garden ceremony where we all raised our flowers for awareness according to color. When the ceremony concluded, it was time to begin our walk.
We did the entire three mile route. Our three year old walked the entire thing and was more than exhausted when we got to the end. We posed for a couple of pictures and then clambered into the car to get back to my mother in love.
I’m looking forward to next year. God willing, we’ll be so much closer to a CURE!
Hello everyone! This weekend was one of the most important and meaningful events in my family’s calendar. This weekend, we participated in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s. This walk raises awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research and has the ultimate goal of one day discovering a cure for the disease. For those of you who have been following for a while, you know that Alzheimer’s runs pretty heavily on the maternal side of my family and strikes our females ferociously. I’ve seen it take my great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, a host of great-aunts, and cousins. It’s so prevalent that I find myself a bit nervous when I can’t remember things. I’ve been leaning toward genetic testing to see if this disease may be in my future, but for now I’m moving forward to see if we can’t find a cure.
