Residents walk to end Alzheimer’s

ROANOKE, VA (WFXR) — People walked with a purpose Saturday morning, to end Alzheimer’s.

Due to the Coronavirus the walk was virtual this year.

Some People even stopped by the promise garden to honor individuals and family impacted by the disease at the Friendship Retirement Community.

The flowers placed in the garden have different meanings, Orange represents support for the cause, Purple symbolizes a loves one lost to the disease, yellow represents a care giver for someone with the disease, and blue someone who’s living with it.

Roanoke Walk to End Alzheimer’s Co-Chair, Casey Halstead, says, “Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect that person. It affects that family and caregiver. You tend to lose that person twice. You lose what they once were when they go through those changes, and you learn to be that support and be that caregiver for them. Then you lose them when they physically leave us. It’s hard to lose that person you love and care about so much and go through that change and see all the difficulties they had.”

As of earlier today, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Roanoke group raised $5,800. All proceeds go to support research programs of the Alzheimer’s Association Central and Western Virginia Chapters.