Alzheimer's walk celebrates hope for a cure
A colorful garden of flowers adorned the College of Southern Idaho lawn Saturday morning, petals bearing the names of, and messages to, loved ones suffering with Alzheimer's.
Each person registered for the Magic Valley Walk to End Alzheimer's was given a flower, and the color of each flower handed out has a special meaning.
"That flower that color is your connection to the cause," said Danielle Lyda with the Alzheimer's Association.
Emotions got the best of Bob MacDonald as he held his yellow flower, which means he's caring for someone currently suffering with the disease.
"This is my third walk and I'm walking for my Chrissy," he said. "She's my wife."
Chrissy was diagnosed at 59, which is early for the disease.
"She's had it since 2009 and she's in an assisted living facility in Buhl," Bob said.
He goes to visit her almost daily, but he said it's hard to see his sweetheart suffer with a disease that has no cure.
"It's all stage 4. If people are familiar with cancer," he said. "Alzheimer's is all stage 4, you don't recover, there's no one in remission and you just kind of waste away."
People signed up for the event in walking teams, and collected donations for the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
"Our goal is to raise funds so that we can bring awareness to the community provide programming, support groups, advocacy, education. Whatever we can do to reach people," Lyda said.
The Alzheimer's Association is an all volunteer organization and they just opened an office in Twin Falls to cover all of the south central Idaho area.
Lyda said if you need help or information for yourself or a loved one, don't hesitate to come see them.
When Bob was asked what he'd tell his wife about all this support, he got emotional.
"I would tell her that all these folks out here today with pinwheels and frozen noses are out here supporting her," he said. "Raising funds for research."
He said he won't give up on the idea of a cure.
"It hasn't happened yet, he said. "But it will."
