For local resident Cheryl Benway, the fight against Alzheimer’s is personal.
In 2011, Benway’s mother passed away from Alzheimer’s at 72 years old, ten years after she was diagnosed at 62.
“She was able to be in an assisted living facility. There were five Alzheimer’s patients with a caregiver, 24/7. It looked like a home. It felt like a home. Everybody had their own bedroom. You could do laundry all day and fold the socks. You could cut the strawberries if that’s what you like to do. You could meet the patients where they were,” Benway said.
As Benway describes it, memories of loved ones with Alzheimer’s or related dementia can feel awkward and lonely. What does it feel like to have an adult mother who is also healthy? When they would go out, her mother would wave at the congregation in church, but when they’d go home, she couldn’t turn on the TV. It was isolating.
But Alzheimer’s education is on the rise, and events like the Walk to End Alzheimer’s help to bridge the gap between daughters, sons, siblings, and everyone in between with a common thread.
We’re dealing with the brain, a complicated frontier. We’re coming closer, and we’re getting there, and we’re getting people into research,” Benway said.
“But, I remember going to Washington D.C. with the Alzheimer’s Association here from Cleveland. We were taking doctors from Cleveland Clinic and the James with us because they couldn’t even get college students to go into Alzheimer’s research because there was no funding for it,” Benway said.
This kind of advocacy encourages caregivers to talk to one another and educate themselves and others. By binding together and bringing awareness to the disease, a push for research is more likely to be heard and these feelings of isolation don’t have to be so intense.
Support was not only crucial for her mother, but her father, too. A caregiver to his wife in their 60s, Jim Prinz, now 85, is still advocating for his wife.
“She used to tell him, ‘I did the first forty years, you do the next forty years,’ and he’s still doing it,” Benway said.
Benway and her father participate in a letter writing campaign to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. By sharing their story with friends, family, and local leaders, they are able to raise funds. Since 2020, they’ve raised $10,000 each year.
“The Alzheimer’s Association makes it very easy to tell our story and encourages us very much, we’ve gained a lot from them as far as education and support. There’s an app, you can register for a walk, and you can donate online,” Benway said.
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to fight Alzheimer’s, and for Benway, it has become a beacon of hope amidst the challenges her family has faced. The 2024 walk takes place on Saturday, September 14th, 2024. The check in time is at 9am, and the ceremony begins at 10am. Meet at Richland Carrousel Park, and contact Erica Parnisari or visit their website for more information. Share using #Walk2EndAlz and #ENDALZ
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