‘Sea of purple’

MOSES LAKE — The annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s is making some big strides. 

“We are in the neighborhood of 37 teams,” said Karisti Cox, the marketing director for Summer Wood Alzheimer’s Special Care in Moses Lake and one of the organizers of the walk. “Last year at this time, we only had 12 teams signed up.” 

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Sept. 14 will mark the event’s 10th anniversary in Moses Lake. Teams can register on the Alzheimer’s Association website at act.alz.org or at the beginning of the walk. 

“While the walk is completely free, we do request registration simply so that we can see how much our walk has grown from years past, so we can embrace those numbers,” Cox said. 

Teams that are signed up have been raising money all year, and individuals who have raised $100 or more get a purple T-shirt. The money raised goes to the Alzheimer’s Association. 

“About 75% of (the money raised) goes to scientific research, which is what we need,” Julie Reathaford, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s manager for the Tri-Cities area, which includes Moses Lake, told the Columbia Basin Herald in a July interview. “And we’ve made leaps and bounds over the last couple of years. Some new drugs have come on the market to treat Alzheimer’s, and ultimately, we just want a cure.” 

In addition, Reathaford said, the Alzheimer’s Association offers education and support for Alzheimer’s sufferers and their caregivers, including a toll-free phone number staffed with experts 24 hours a day. 

“So Grandma wakes up in the middle of the night at 2 a.m. and her husband's doing something weird. Should she take him to the ER?” she said. “(She’s) going to call that number, and they're going to let her know what she should do.” 

The walk will begin at the Centennial Amphitheater at McCosh Park. The Colors of Hope sidewalk chalk art project will begin at 7:30 a.m. Registration will begin at 9 a.m., the opening ceremony will be at 10 a.m., and the walk itself will begin at 10:30 a.m. 

The route will be what Cox called a 10-city-block jaunt, up Dogwood Street to Third Avenue, east on Third to Division Street, then south on Division to Fifth Avenue and back to the park. Well-behaved dogs are welcome if they’re on a leash and strollers are OK, but skateboards and bikes aren’t. 

“We typically have wheelchairs available for people who need help,” Cox said. “And if people have a hard time walking, they don’t have to … If you’re 80 years old and 10 city blocks is too much for you, you don’t have to walk.” 

Every registered participant receives a flower for the Promise Garden, color-coded to reflect their connection to the disease: Blue for someone who has Alzheimer’s, purple for those who have lost someone to the disease, yellow for caregivers and orange for anyone else who wants to see Alzheimer’s become a thing of the past. 

The Colors of Hope children’s sidewalk chalk art project that Cox tested out at last year’s walk has gone viral, she said.  

“It went nationwide this year,” Cox said. “It's going to Kansas, which is especially dear to my heart, because that's where I'm from. The fact that there are several different walks that are going to be hosting their version of the Colors of Hope is just excellent.” 

Besides the walk, the Alzheimer’s Association is hosting the Dude, Where’s My Cart Golf Tournament on Sept. 28 at Sage Hills Golf Club in Warden. Scattered through the tournament will be challenges like playing with a golf club 1/3 the size of a regular one, or trying to swing while sitting on a toilet. The challenges are meant to mirror problems Alzheimer’s patients encounter every day. 

"While it’s super funny and super awkward, it’s also educational,” Cox said. “I have learned that if you want to get someone’s attention, you have to engage them in something that is either funny or emotional. This gives people something to remember.” 

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is ultimately about bringing the community together, Cox said. That’s part of the reason it’s scheduled for Sept. 14; there are several other events happening in Moses Lake that day and the Moses Lake Farmer’s Market will be going on nearby. 

“The walk is important, but it's not about the physical putting one foot in front of the other,” she said. “It’s about coming together as a giant support group that, when you look across the field at the McCosh Park amphitheater, as you're looking at the sea of purple, you're realizing that those people know your journey and you know theirs.” 

    A walker’s T-shirt shows why he’s participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s last year. This year’s event is Sept. 14.
  

    Not everybody who wants to fight Alzheimer’s can walk well, so wheelchairs will be available for those who need them, and children in strollers are welcome.