
Double Your Love, Double Your Impact
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Donate NowCreating Victories Through Walk to End Alzheimer’s: “I Was Meant to Do This”
I’ve gone through a lot of hard things in my life, but Alzheimer's was the hardest, and most heartbreaking. My mom, Jerry, died in January 2012 due to complications of Alzheimer's. I wouldn’t have gotten through that 20-year journey without my faith, the support of family and friends, and Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
Finding My Way
I was visiting friends for dinner when I spotted an ad for West Georgia’s Walk to End Azheimer's in the newspaper, an event I had never heard of. It felt like God had placed that paper in my hands. It hit me immediately — I’m just going to go. That was more than a decade ago, and I have been walking ever since.
My Commitment to End Alzheimer’s
Some of my most rewarding experiences over the past years have been conversations with caregivers that I've never met. I’ve cried and prayed on the phone with them, and provided support. It’s a way for me to be there for them, as others were for me; that contact and support was absolutely essential in me getting through the long journey that is Alzheimer’s.
What you find when you start talking to people about Alzheimer's is almost everyone has a connection, and it is often a close immediate connection. Alzheimer’s may have robbed Mom of her last 20 years, taking more of her away from us, day by day, and yet my heart is filled with love thanks to all those who have joined me in this fight.
For Mom
Even though a family’s journey with Alzheimer's comes to a sort of end when a loved one passes, it doesn't mean it’s truly the end. My mom passed in 2012, but today, I continue to encourage others to face this disease, and not walk away from it. It’s important for those of us no longer in the midst of the disease to pick up and carry the load for others. By keeping others going, we continue to make a difference against a disease that has often felt insurmountable.
I'd tell her who I trained at work, where I traveled — never changing how I spoke to her during the course of her disease, even if she said nothing back. One day, about three years before her passing, she smiled back at me and said: “You are my sweetest child.” That was probably one of the best things she ever said to me. And it was more than enough.
For more than eight years, I was focused on Mom. I was never not a caregiver, even when we moved Mom into assisted living, and that feeling of constant concern for her never went away. All I could do is love her the best I could and make sure she was cared for, since there is not yet a cure for this dreadful disease.
So many things take on new meaning in today's world, and while it seems as if everything is different, my family stands strong, refusing to allow anything to weaken our resolve in this fight. We believe in a future world without Alzheimer's, and with your help, that can become a reality. Join us at alz.org/walk.
About: Trish Walker is joined in her passion for Walk to End Alzheimer's by her siblings Lynn, Tim and Lisa. She has been involved in the West Georgia Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Carrollton for 11 years, and on her local committee for 10. Visit her personal Walk to End Alzheimer's page.