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People line up at the starting point at this year's Albert Lea/Austin Walk to End Alzheimer's. Participants held flowers with colors corresponding to their connection to Alzheimer's disease. Ayanna Eckblad/Albert Lea Tribune

People return to the starting/ending point of the walk, cheered on by volunteers from the Walk to End Alzheimer's Committee and other participating organizations. Ayanna Eckblad/Albert Lea Tribune

Walkers at the Albert Lea/Austin Walk to End Alzheimer's make their way down East Front Street during the event Saturday. Ayanna Eckblad/Albert Lea Tribune

Walk to End Alzheimer's committee member Jaclyn Wangen was the emcee for the event's opening ceremony Saturday. Ayanna Eckblad/Albert Lea Tribune

Brandi Krenz, a member of this year's Walk to End Alzheimer's honorary family, stands on stage with daughter, Lindy, to share the emotional story of her grandfather's battle with Alzheimer's. Ayanna Eckblad/Albert Lea Tribune

People gathered on Saturday morning at Frank Hall Park for the Albert Lea/Austin Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which raises money and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

The event was meaningful for many as they remember loved ones who passed away from the disease or provide care for those currently struggling with its devastating effects.

Many participants walked in a group with organizations such as Thorne Crest Senior Living Community or St. Croix Hospice. This was the case for Naomi Schuster and daughter, Sierra Schuster, who walked with Thorne Crest to honor multiple members of their family who struggled with Alzheimer’s, including Naomi’s father, grandmother and uncle.

Before the start of the opening ceremony participants registered and received a large flower pinwheel. The flowers were a variety of different colors, each symbolizing a different connection the person has to Alzheimer’s or other dementia.

The opening ceremony began with the national anthem followed by a few words by the event’s emcee, Jaclyn Wangen. She began working on the Walk to End Alzheimer’s committee in 2018. Her grandfather had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s around that time. Wangen is also a financial advisor at Edward Jones, a major sponsor of the event.

“Whether you’ve walked this road personally or are here to support the Albert Lea and surrounding area communities, or simply believe [in] the association’s vision of a world without Alzheimer’s… Your presence here today is invaluable,” Wangen said.

Edward Jones had representative Tyler Doran speak on why the company supports the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

The Mayo Clinic was also a sponsor of the event. Steve Smith, program manager with the Alzheimer’s disease research center at the Mayo Clinic, shared a few words as well. Smith talked about some of the recent innovations in medicine that have led to slower disease progression for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. He added, however, he and the research team in Rochester would not stop trying to find more treatments for Alzheimer’s and eventually hope to find a cure.

The main speaker at the ceremony was  Brandi Krenz, a member of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s honorary family. She, while holding her infant daughter, Lindy, gave an emotional speech celebrating her grandfather, Gary Troe, who passed away a year ago at age 75.

“Even through his battle with Alzheimer’s, he would look at you with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes,” Krenz said. She described the stages her grandfather went through during the later part of his life, moving from living independently in Lake Mills, to living with his adult children in Twin Lakes, and finally, transitioning to memory care at Thorne Crest in Albert Lea.

“Human beings are fixers. We want to help, right?” Krenz said. “There wasn’t a fix for what was happening in my grandpa’s brain, but as caregivers and loved ones, we sure wanted there to be one. I hope that continued efforts by organizations such as this one, someone’s grandpa, somewhere, someday will get the fix.”

Krenz added that once she accepted and acknowledged her grandfather’s condition, she was able to focus on making positive memories in the last years of his life. Some of these included dancing with her grandfather at her wedding, watching him light up when the family brought cake and balloons for his birthday and recording the last time he said “I love you.”

Krenz closed her speech by offering some ideas that she and her family used to improve her grandfather’s quality of life after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s:

1. Bring loved ones familiar things they recognize and correlate with special occasions, like a balloon for their birthday.
2. Label family photos and childrens’ drawings with names, ages, dates and relationships to the loved one struggling with memory.
3. Practice having conversations with loved ones that are nonverbal or do not include eye contact.
4. Introduce yourself when you visit, even if you have to take a breath and hold back tears doing so.
5. Find sensory or other comfort items for loved ones like a baby doll or sensory pillow.
6. Avoid making demands by offering suggestions to your loved one and phrasing things as though it’s their idea.
7. Steer conversations toward positive subjects.
8. Give your loved one seven seconds to respond to you.

After Krenz’s speech, Wangen invited those participating in the walk to hold up their colored flowers. She explained orange flowers symbolized those who support the cause and want to fight for a world free from Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. Caregivers and others giving support to someone living with Alzheimer’s held yellow flowers. Purple flowers were carried by those who lost someone to Alzheimer’s. People currently living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia held blue flowers.

There was one white flower held up at the event.

“A white flower that represents the first survivor of Alzheimer’s,” Wangen said. “Wouldn’t that be an incredible addition to our garden? And until that day happens, we must not back down. We must continue to lead the way because together we can end Alzheimer’s.”

Following Wangen’s speech, participants lined up at the starting line. Minutes later the walk commenced. The route had one- and three-mile options.

As of the day of the event, the Albert Lea/Austin Walk to End Alzheimer’s had raised a total of about $31,000. This is over halfway to the organization’s goal of $54,000. Donations  wil be accepted through Dec. 31. People can make donations by visiting act.alz.org/site/TR?pg=pfind&fr_id=17706. Donations can also be made offline by sending a check or money order by mail or hand delivering money to the local Alzheimer’s Association office, according to the organization’s website.

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