2022 Walk to End Alzheimer’s draws nearly 500 participants
A river of purple formed on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Sept. 24, bringing with it flowers of blue, yellow, orange, purple and white. A total of 492 people affected by Alzheimer’s raised more than $160,000 and walked in support of finding a cure.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 19,000 people in Delaware are living with the disease, with 47,000 caregivers providing support. Nationally, 6 million people have the disease, while there are 11 million unpaid caregivers. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s raises money for Alzheimer’s research and support services.
More than 95% of people with dementia have one or more other chronic conditions and often receive a majority of their care from inexperienced family members. Advocates point to the inability of most practices to afford developing, implementing and sustaining dementia care. Dementia care has been cited as a way to ease the burden of an overstretched caregiver.
The walk kicked off with a special Promise Garden Ceremony involving Promise Garden Flowers. The flowers come in five colors, representing the different levels of involvement each person has with Alzheimer’s.
Blue: I am living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia
Yellow: I support or care for someone living with Alzheimer’s
Purple: I have lost some to Alzheimer’s
Orange: I support the cause the the Alzheimer’s Association of a world without Alzheimer’s and other dementia
White: I have been cured.
Karson Barenholtz, sporting an orange flower, was the first to be called. Her bright smile was a warm comfort to Chris Shelton, who lost her mother Mary Fusca and held a purple flower in remembrance. Receiving an outpour of support from the crowd was Bonny Hastings. Hastings had a yellow flower because she has been caring for her husband Steve for the past six years.
Doris Daisey was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020. Her blue flower let’s people know she is living with the disease. Daisey walked because she wants to show others how to fight and not give up. Through determination and the support of her family, Daisey would like to hold the first real white flower.
For now, the white flower is a symbol, representing the optimism for an eventual cure. Two-year-old Ava Nichols was chosen to carry the beacon of hope Sept. 24, leading the walkers on their metaphorical journey to end a crushing disease.
Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, and Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, greeted walkers at the finish line along with volunteers from Mountaire and Delaware State University.
The fundraising goal was $218,000, and although the walk has already occurred, participants and teams can still continue to raise money through Dec. 31.
Delaware has recently been identified as a neurological desert, meaning services and care for neurological diseases are few and far between. To donate, text 2endalz to 5155 and follow the instructions. For more information about Alzheimer’s and resources for patients and caregivers, go to ALZ.org.
Ruth Pryor, an Alzheimer’s Association volunteer, facilitates an Alzheimer’s caregivers support group at the Lewes Public Library every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, call Pryor at 302-231-8186 or 800-272-3900.
