Why I walked in Milwaukee this year...
My cousin Kristen has been the Chairperson for the Alz Walk in Milwaukee for the last few years. The cause is near and dear to our hearts because our Grandma Mabel and our Grandpa Paul both died from complications from the disease.
My Mom Holly and her sister Cheryl were both caregivers for their parents. When Mabel and Paul started to get sick, my Aunt Cheryl (pictured in the wheelchair) and her husband moved in with my grandparents, leaving their lives and children in Milwaukee to come help in Colorado. They ended up staying out here for over 15 years. Everyday they supported Paul and Mabel, and the rest of the family! Doctor appointments, keeping up with the house, making sure everyone was sleeping, eating, and meeting their basic needs.
They say "it takes a village" when caring for a young child, but it also really takes a village when caring for an older adult too. Especially an older adult living with dementia or Alzheimer's Disease. My Aunty C and my uncle were very important parts of the village back then! And after my grandparents passed, they became my earthly support when I really missed my grandma and grandpa. Now my Uncle has passed away, and my Aunt Cheryl lives alone. She is started to feel the affects of aging, and often declines to join on events like baseball games or even going to the Alzheimer's Walk because it is just too taxing. Well this past weekend was different!
We got out the wheelchair collecting dust in the basement of her house in Milwaukee and said "you're coming with!" I got to help her have a special life memory and be her support person that day, it was meaningful in every way.
She said over and over how special it was to be there together to help #walktoendalzheimers and it was so special for my Mom and I to be there with her. To all walk together to honor their parents, my grandparents.
No one chooses this awful illness, and no one can say for certain if it will happen to you or not, or when it may strike.
This weekend, we celebrated life! We celebrated being together, walking in life to support a cause deeply important to us.The memories we created are treasures, even if one day we need to be reminded of them or revisit these pictures to live in the moment again.
Tell your loved ones how you feel about them every day, and let us all work together to find a cure....and if we keep fighting, maybe one day we will find the cure.
