The Alzheimer’s Association^® is inviting Miami-Dade area residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s. The Walk will take place on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at Museum Park, 1075 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. This is a family-friendly event.

 

Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s participants will complete a 2-mile walk and will learn about Alzheimer’s disease, advocacy opportunities, clinical studies enrollment and support programs and services from the Alzheimer’s Association. Walk participants also honor those affected by Alzheimer’s disease with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony.

 

“I lost my dad in 2016 to Alzheimer’s,” said Amanda Kahoe of her beloved father, Mike Shiren. “But we really lost him a few years before. Its’ a horrible thing to miss someone when they are still alive, but they are already gone. He didn’t know me anymore, and hadn’t for close to two years before he passed away. It’s tragic what this disease does to your mind and eventually to your body.” Amanda is team captain of Forget Me Knot and will be participating the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Miami-Dade.

 

“This disease touched our family 19 years ago,” said Beatriz Martin, who will be walking with her fellow Prager Metis – Miami team members. “My grandmother was like my mother, she took care of me while my parents worked. She was the center of our family. We celebrated her 80th birthday and she looked amazing. That same year we started noticing changes in her behavior and memory. Screaming spells, anger, memory loss kicked in full force. She didn’t know if she ate or where her things were. A woman that only lived for my dad and I, at the end would not even recognize who we were. This is what this disease does to you and your family, it steals the people you love and it does it gradually and painfully.”

 

More than 5.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. It’s the only disease among the top 10 causes that cannot be cured, prevented or even slowed. More than 16 million family and friends provide care to people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the U.S. In Florida alone, there are more than 540,000 people living with the disease and more than 1.1 million caregivers. 

 

Catholic Health Services is the Presenting Sponsor of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Miami-Dade. “As CHS is a leading provider of post-acute care and senior care services, we recognize firsthand the impact this awful disease has on the individual and the multi-layered burden it places on the family and caregivers. About 67% of persons with Alzheimer’s/dementia spend their final days in a nursing home and over 50% of residents in assisted living facilities or nursing homes suffer from the disease. These people are in our lives every day. It is in our mission to care for and support them, their families, their caregivers and our staff who not only care for these people at work, but many at home in their own families as well,” said Joe Catania, President and CEO of Catholic Health Services. “The Alzheimer’s Association provides valuable support services, while also supporting critically need research. We are fully committed to support the Alzheimer’s Association.”

 

Register today. Sign up as a Team Captain, join a team or register to walk as an individual at alz.org/walk.

Información y fotografía cortesía Alzheimer’s Association