The Williams Lake Seniors Village invites the community to join them Monday morning in a Walk for Alzheimer’s.
“We usually do a walk every year within our own community here at the Village, but this year we are hoping to open it up and invite the public,” says recreation aide Kristen Riddle.
“In our community, we have many people who do have Alzheimer’s and so it’s important for us to raise awareness for the people that we spend most of our time with and care for. I don’t think that there’s enough information out there where people necessarily understand it enough.”
‘A Horrible Disease’
Lake city resident Deanna Hoversland organized her own personal Walk for Alzheimer’s at the Longhouse Sunday to coincide with the provincial Walk.
“My mother had Alzheimer’s and it was one of the worst things I have ever seen in my life,” says Hoversland.
“I never even honestly realized it was happening until one day we were riding along on a City bus and my mother turned and she looks at me, and she says ‘I know I should probably know you, but who are you?’ Â I laughed and said you know me I’m your daughter and she says it must be something like that, you seem nice. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t’ want to show her that I was concerned because I didn’t want to frighten her.”
From there Hoversland says that her mother quickly deteriorated and within 3 years had passed away.
“I would love to be able to see it go away, be one of those diseases that never happen again.”
Registration for the Walk for Alzheimer’s at the Williams Lake Seniors Village is at 10 am in the main lobby area on Monday. The Walk starts at 10:30 am and will have two routes including low impact and high intensity.