This past weekend, my family and I drove over to Glen Carbon for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
While this is an annual event, this year was the first time we’ve participated in it. We recently lost my grandfather after a multiyear battle with Alzheimer’s. He put up a good fight, and I miss him a lot.
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It’s easy to get torn up by the if-onlys and the how-comes. But instead of being bogged down by this, my family and I decided to do something good in his name. In fact, everyone at the walk had their own, equally powerful reasons for joining in.
Before the walk officially began, we had about half an hour to mill around, chat with people at the informational booths, and enjoy balloon animals made by a very energetic clown. There was a brief ceremony, too, where each participant was asked to hold up a flower.
The flowers were different colors to denote our relationship to the disease. I — and a lot of other people — held a purple flower, to signify that I had lost someone. Arguably the most heartbreaking were the blue flowers, held by people who are living with dementia or Alzheimer’s.
But right at the end of the ceremony, a little girl walked up carrying a white flower, to symbolize the first survivor of Alzheimer’s who will, we firmly believe, exist in our lifetimes.
All proceeds from the walk go toward the Alzheimer’s Association, which is a leading research and support organization. They’re working hard to find a cure for the disease. I can’t wait for the day that headline flashes across my phone screen, so other families don’t have to go through the same devastation.
It was a beautiful, clear, cool day, so we took our time walking the 1.5-mile route around Ray M. Schon Park. We chatted and laughed and caught up with each other.
As we walked, there were statistics printed on signs planted in the ground. Did you know women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than men? More people of color experience dementia than white people. These stats are terrifying and important to note, and they speak to the importance of the research done by the Alzheimer’s Association.
I was wearing my grandfather’s sweatshirt, and it felt great to be close to him like that. As much fun as we had, I don’t want to lose sight of why we did it. My grandfather was a kind, generous, stubborn, funny man. Yes, the disease took some of that away from him. But he never grew tired of telling jokes or helping others. He never lost what made him himself.
And while, obviously, we are heartbroken to have lost him in the way that we did, that laughing, joking version of him is what I have chosen to remember. That’s what I’ll carry with me.
If you have a loved one or you yourself are diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s, there are resources out there that can help. The Alzheimer’s Association has a ton of services available, including a 24/7 helpline. You can find all of this on the official Alzheimer’s Association website.
And if you’d like to contribute toward the cause in the name of my grandfather, that would mean everything. You can do so here.
