‘Walk to End Alzheimer’s’ moved up a month to September in Medina

File photo: These flowers were displayed at State Street Park during the 2018 Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Personal messages were written on the flowers. The different colors of the flowers have different meanings. Blue flowers represent a person battling the disease. Purple is for a person who lost their battle with the disease. Yellow signifies a caregiver. Orange is for a supporter of the cause.

MEDINA – The annual walk in Orleans County to benefit Alzheimer’s disease is scheduled Sept. 9, beginning in State Street Park.

Registration begins at 10 a.m., with refreshments and other activities. The opening ceremony at 11 a.m. will be followed by the start of the walk at 11:15.

The walk is being held earlier this year, because the weather is often colder or blustery in October, said Carolyn Wagner, a member of the planning committee.

Wagner and Mary Lou Tuohey are among volunteers on the committee who have personal reasons to be involved in fundraising for the disease.

Both have family members who died of Alzheimer’s.

Tuohey has been very vocal about her experiences with her parents, Don and Jane Bradley, who both suffered from the disease. Don was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 52. He was forced to retired from his job at Harrison’s and close a repair shop he ran. As the disease progressed, his family took his car keys.

Mary Lou would bring him to her house and give him a basket of socks to fold. Then she would bring him another, which he knew was the same basket she had unfolded and then gave back to him.

One day he got so angry he punched her in the stomach. One week later, she gave birth to a son, Casey. When the family feared he would harm his wife, they moved him to a nursing home. He died at the age of 65.

Jane’s story is that of a stay-at-home mom and devoted wife of 42 years. At the age of 75, she started forgetting things, like people’s names, taking her medication or turning off the stove. One day she went driving and got lost. She has no idea how she got back home. That’s when her family took her car keys away.

Jane became very angry and mean to her children and threw things at them. Eventually the family moved her to assisted living, which she hated. As her condition worsened, she went to a nursing home, where she became aggressive toward the staff and her family.  They brought her a doll named Andrew, which Jane loved and cuddled. She sang “gibberish” to him, until she finally closed her eyes and went to be with Don.

Mary Lou’s daughter Nicole remembers her grandma and grandpa, and watching them fade from life. That is why she sells elephant links for $1 at her mom’s store, Case-Nic Cookies, and donates all the money to Alzheimer’s for research.

Carolyn Wagner’s connection to the disease began with her father-in-law. He had been on a steady decline for several years, but no one knew what was wrong. Then it became obvious, she said.

“People with Alzheimer’s become ‘Sundowners,’” Wagner said. “In the late afternoon they become very agitated. Eventually he didn’t know his own son. I stayed nights with him so he didn’t turn on the stove or do something harmful.”

She said being a caregiver was 24/7 and she was constantly exhausted and on edge.

He eventually would move in and live in the North Wing at Medina Memorial Hospital, and they were wonderful to him, Wagner said.

“We didn’t want to put him in a nursing home, but it wasn’t safe for him or my mother-in-law for him to be at home,” she said.

She and Tuohey are sharing their story to get the word to people that help is available from the Alzheimer’s Association.

“They offer so much,” Wagner said. “We didn’t realize any of that.”

The local committee works with Lynn Westcott, director of development at the Western New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in Amherst.

“She works with the committees in each county,” Wagner said. “They offer a lot of help. Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease and we want to do what we can to raise awareness. Statistics show that the number of people who will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is staggering. Most people think it is an old person’s disease, but it’s not. People in their 40s are being diagnosed. Their body is still strong, but their mind is gone. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, educated or not, Black or White. It’s a tough disease for anyone involved.”

The local planning committee starts meeting in the spring at Case-Nic Cookies. They welcome invitations to come and speak to groups, such as local service clubs.

Committee members, in addition to Tuohey and Wager, are Cathy Hooker, Amanda Pollard, Michelle Lewis, Pam Canham, Jennifer Nowicki, Beth Schmidt and Mollie Radzinski.

Information on registering for the walk or making a donation is available by clicking here.