Memory Walk: A Community Fight Against Alzheimer’s

By T.M. Luker

FORT COLLINS, Colo- There was beautiful sunshine and joyful laughter in the air. Music filled any kind of silence, and people of all ages stood in one large group to welcome outsiders. A big purple sign read Registration for Memory Walk, and yet it seemed that everyone already knew each others names. Finding a cure and raising awareness of the facts about Alzheimer's was the purpose of the gathering, and there was no hiding the feeling of a connection between total strangers.

When searching for more information on the symptoms and other medical information about Alzheimer's disease, a site described as a doctors blog, WebMd, stated that the symptoms of forgetfulness and impaired judgment creates difficulty to remain employed, “and live a day to day life.” These two symptom examples are more than just to forget to lock the door; they are issues that majorly affect your life, like forgetting the existence of a family member.

Alzheimer's is an illness that replaces the ‘senile’ or ‘old age’ explanations used previously.

According the Associations website, this disease is affecting five million people and increasing, making it harder and harder to put at the bottom of the priority list.

The Alzheimer's Memory Walk is a three mile walk. It is also a nation wide fundraiser to find the cure for Alzheimer's although the money raised is used to help the local support groups. It is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association, and even contributed to by companies like Starbucks. The previous year received $70,000 for local Alzheimer's research, support groups, and even scholarships. The volunteers this year were certain that they would beat that number this time.
There are many methods to prevent Alzheimer's, such as cross word puzzles and a healthy diet. Even Whitney agreed that “You can start taking care of your brains now.” But the main issue with Alzheimer's is it’s hereditary.

Over 850 people attended the event, and even the coordinators had a personal attachment to Alzheimer’s disease.


“It affects the whole family.” says Emmylie Connor, the Regional Director and head councilor at the Alzheimer's Association in Fort Collins for the past eight years.

She also discussed how losing her Aunt to the illness was her inspiration to use her masters in speech mythology to help aid other families in this crisis.

Another volunteer Interviewed at the fundraiser was Beth Whitney, who has worked at the walk for two years now. Her reason for her dedication to the Memory Walk, she informed me, was her many patients at the nursing home who show the symptoms of Alzheimer's, and also the overall atmosphere of the event.
“The people that you meet, you all get very close.”

There is not a cure for Alzheimer's at the moment, but Whitney had her own opinion that showed her optimism.
“I’m convinced that there will be a cure in 10 years.”

Although there are many drug treatments offered to patients, therapy is still the most common way to treat a case of Alzheimer's, yet more breakthroughs in medical research are occurring annually.

“A person with Alzheimer's can live a longer and healthier life if they can stay social and do activities,” says Emmylie Connor. The walk in that case was a brilliant idea, since there was no lack of either of these attributes.

Another interviewee was Pete Ramirez, a band member in the Radio Dogs who were performing at the event for the first time. His own personal experience with Alzheimer's was heart breaking.
“My mom lived over a thousand miles away and I was her only care giver, the Association helped me for about five years.” He said.
“I can’t say enough good things about the Association.”

Although the atmosphere couldn’t have been more light and enjoyable, the essence of suffering was still in the air. Connor also stated that, “It does get very emotional; you’ll see people crying during the walk.”

The Alzheimer's Association in Fort Collins provides support groups for all ages, and even medical advice to help the families better understand the issues of Alzheimer's victims. More information about Alzheimer's can be found on the Associations website; www.alz.org.

“We hope that when families come and see us, they look beyond biological and take us in as well,” says Connor.