Flowers of hope

COEUR d’ALENE — Karen Hanks held a yellow Promise Garden flower in her hand, representing her role as a caregiver.

She stood close to her mother, Carmen Lehman, who held a blue one, representing her battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Hanks, of Coeur d’Alene, would sometimes drape an arm around her mom and give her a gentle squeeze as they listened to the opening remarks of the 25th annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Sunday morning in McEuen Park.

“It’s close to my heart because it’s something my mom has,” Hanks said. “And you never know, I might end up getting it too.”

“Mine just came up out of nowhere,” Lehman said.

Hanks and Lehman were among about 400 who attended the walk. The yearly fundraiser supports the Alzheimer’s Association, which conducts research, provides care for patients and their caregivers and works to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by promoting brain health.

Many walkers wore purple event T-shirts and carried their orange, blue, yellow or purple whirlygig Promise Garden flowers as they trekked along the 3-mile circuit, raising awareness and bringing attention to the disease. The blue flowers represent someone with the disease, yellow is for caregivers, purple is for a lost loved one and the orange flowers represent people who support the fight against Alzheimer’s. Several of the walkers placed their flowers in the Promise Garden, an area designated to honoring the lives and memories of Alzheimer’s victims.

“This is the epidemic of the century and it’s the defining disease of the Baby Boomers,” said PJ Christo, RN, who serves as the outreach coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association Inland Northwest chapter. “It’s the most expensive disease currently known.”

Christo said one out of every five Medicare dollars goes to dementia in some way.

“This is the disease that’s going to break the nation’s bank completely in the health care system if we don’t do something about it,” she said.

Joel Loiacono, executive director of the Inland Northwest chapter, said 26,000 people in Idaho alone are afflicted with the disease and two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases are women.

“People are tired of living with Alzheimer’s and different types of dementia,” he said. “They want to put an end to that.”

Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia and gets worse over time. It has no cure, but treatments are available to slow its progress. Hanks said people should be get involved in the fight against the disease any way they can.

“You just never know when it’s going to strike somebody in your family or your own self,” she said.

Participants, individuals and teams in this year’s walk raised more than $48,900, almost reaching the goal of $50,000.

Several Alzheimer’s/dementia support groups and programs are available and happening in the area. Planning: The Key to Survival for the Dementia Caregiver is a free program that will discuss strategies for having a joyous holiday season. It will be Oct. 28 from 2-4 p.m. in the Hayden Public Library. Conversations about Dementia, a free workshop to aid with honest family discussions, will be in the Salvation Army Kroc Center from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 6.

Info: 666-2996 or www.alz.org