Lace up to fight Alzheimer’s Disease

Toccoa’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s is just around the corner, and organizer Lisa Lawson is looking forward to a well-attended event. 

Lawson has been involved in the local walk for several years, and her motivation goes back to personal connections to the disease, she said. 

Lawson said the event not only raises funds, but needed awareness about Alzheimer’s

The local walk has been taking place for seven years, and there is a lot of local support for the event, she added.

Lawson said that participants do not need to register in advance, and everyone is welcome to come participate, whether they can donate funds or not.

The Toccoa Walk To End Alzheimer’s will be held at First Baptist Church, 75 East Tugaloo St. on Sunday, October 22 at 2p.m. Lawson said.

Participants should arrive early for registration, and all donations being made by check need to be made payable to The Alzheimer’s Association. 

As part of the The Alzheimer’s Association’s National Walk to End Alzheimer’s – the world’s largest fundraiser for  Alzheimer’s – all proceeds from Toccoa’s walk, and associated events, will help provide care and support for those facing Alzheimers. 

In addition to funds donated by those participating in the walk, there is also a raffle drawing that will be held on November 1st, and a Chick-fil-A Spirit Night fundraiser this Thursday, October 19. 

Raffle tickets are $10 each for a chance to win two tickets to the UGA vs. Old Miss game on November 11, and this Thursday, from 5 – 8 p.m. at the Toccoa Chik fil a at 605 Big A Road, diners will have the opportunity to drop their receipt from their meal in a bucket near the registers, and Chick Fil A will donate a percentage of the revenue from those receipts to the Toccoa Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Lawson said The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading, voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. 

According to The Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s currently has no cure and no survivors but the Alzheimer’s Association provides “relentless advocacy, investment and groundbreaking research” in the search for a cure, and new FDA approved treatments to slow the disease in the early stages give hope that a cure will be found.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia – a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 to 80% of dementia cases and, although the greatest  risk factor for Alzheimer’s is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer’s or 65 and older, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging.

On average, a person with Alzheimer’s lives for eight years after diagnosis, but the post-diagnosis lifespan can be as long as 20 years. 

The AgingCare.com website explains that “Alzheimer’s disease is a very complex condition that is always fatal. It manifests initially with marked memory loss and lapses in judgement, but as it progresses, it also has a devastating effect on higher brain functions. In late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, balance and coordination as well as autonomic functions like heart rate, breathing, digestion and sleep cycles are severely affected.”

Advances made by the Alzheimer’s Association, funded in part by local fundraising efforts such as the Toccoa walk, have made a diffefrencd in the lives those battling Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, Lawson said.

For more information, visit act.alz.org, search for “Toccoa Walk to End Alzheimer’s” on Facebook, or contact Lawson at (706) 491-2347.