While a cure is still not yet in sight, residents took the latest hopeful strides towards that potential reality this past weekend with the annual Emporia Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
Once again located on the Lyon County Fairgrounds, the walk welcomed several families, individuals and teams together to take the ceremonial strides towards a future without Alzheimer’s or dementia. As always, the walk itself was preceded by the Promise Garden ceremony, which included individuals holding up specific colored flowers representing their personal connections to Alzheimer’s disease. Blue flowers were carried by individuals currently living with the disease. Purple flowers signified the loss of a loved one to Alzheimer’s or dementia. Yellow flowers represented those who are currently caring for an Alzheimer’s patient, and orange flowers identified individuals who support the idea of a world without Alzheimer’s.
A special white flower was also displayed during the ceremony that stood as a symbol of hope that there will one day be a cure for Alzheimer’s and all dementia.
Regardless of one’s reason for being at the walk, Committee Chair, Robin Sage says when individuals come together for the event each year, they may enter via their own separate paths, but they always leave as part of a “second family” thanks to the many collaborations and partnerships that have formed across the community over the years.
The goal for this year’s walk was $26,000, with more than $10,000 raised before the event got underway, with several individuals being recognized as Walk Champions for raising $500 or more individually. All proceeds, as always, will be going to the Alzheimer’s Foundation to support research for a cure as well as support and resources for those affected by the disease around the country.
As our understanding of the disease has progressed, so too has our understanding of the impact it has not only on those living with the disease, but their families and caregivers as well.
With this in mind, Sage noted the amount of work that has been done in recent years to offer more support to those who give their time and effort to assist Alzheimer’s patients on their respective journeys. This includes the creation of support groups and local programming, such as the Emporia Senior Center’s Brain Break Fridays.
For more information on the Alzheimer’s Association or how you can get involved in the fight to end Alzheimer’s disease, visit ALZ.org. Final walk totals are currently pending.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE News
