HOW TO GO
What: Walk To End Alzheimer’s
When: Saturday at Wittenberg University‘s Benham-Pence Student Center, 200 W. Ward St.
When: Registration is at 8:30 a.m., opening ceremonies start at 10 a.m.
More info: On the local walk, call 937-610-7014 or email kmauch@alz.org. For the toll free hotline, call 800-272-3900
Pat Comer admits she didn’t take her husband’s diagnosis seriously at first. But she soon learned just how devastating Alzheimer’s disease is, eventually losing her husband to it.
That’s why the Springfield resident has remained committed to walking in the local annual Walk To End Alzheimer’s, which will be held Saturday at Wittenberg University‘s Benham-Pence Student Center, 200 W. Ward St. Registration is at 8:30 a.m., with opening ceremonies starting at 10 a.m.
Her husband Kevin (known by many as “K.O.”) died at 65 in 2011 after a six-year battle with the disease. Five years later, Comer is still healing.
“When he was first diagnosed, we didn’t know anything about that disease, and we didn’t think it affected him,” she said. “He originally went to the doctor to stop smoking. I didn’t see anything in 2005, but as it progressed, you’d notice little things. In our case, my husband didn’t even recognize me by June 2011.
It’s truly devastating for the patient, Comer said.
“It also affects the whole family tremendously,” she said. “It’s a very slow process. You feel so helpless.”
About 4,000 people live with the disease in Clark and Champaign counties, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s Miami Valley Chapter. One in three seniors will die from the disease, and Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.
That’s why Comer is so active in the fight. She, her daughter and grandchildren have walked since 2012, a year after her husband’s death. She has so far raised nearly $1,300 for this year’s walk.
“It just takes away everything away from that person,” Comer said. “The bottom line is the person you knew, you lose that person eventually.”
As of earlier this week, more than 75 percent of this year’s goal of $110,000 had been pledged, according to the event’s website. Walks will be held in more than 600 communities and are the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research, care and support.
Five walks are held within the Miami Valley chapter, one every Saturday in September.
Fundraising this year is ahead of last year, said Katie Mauch, the local chapter’s director of communications and coordinator of the Springfield walk.
Last year’s Springfield walk raised $101,000 with 96 teams participating. This year, 134 have registered so far.
“Awareness has been a key,” she said about the increased success in fundraising.
The money raised pays for research, support groups, care consultations, education programs, local referrals, early-stage programming, respite care for caregivers and a 24/7 hotline number. That number is 800-272-3900.
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