2021 Walk to End Alzheimer’s set for Saturday at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento – KCRA Sacramento

Hundreds of people will gather in West Sacramento this weekend for a walk that raises awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The 2021 Walk to End Alzheimer’s happens Saturday morning. All money raised will go to the Alzheimer’s Association for research, care and support services. Alexandra Castillo-Weisgerber with the Alzheimer’s Association said that people often know about memory loss with Alzheimer’s but another issue with the disease is “sometimes its changes in personality, the ability to do things that you once did with ease.” She said that her grandmother always made an apple pie that tasted perfect “and then we started to taste that something is different here.” “While it is very difficult to see your loved one change throughout the course of the disease, we do believe that there are ways for individuals to live well,” Castillo-Weisgerber said. “We have support groups for people who are in the early stages where they can connect with who are experiencing something similar.”At those support groups, people can talk about their fears or how frustrating it is not being able to drive anymore, she said. Family members can also find support through groups. At Saturday’s event, people will walk 1 to 3 miles around Sutter Health Park. Participants are encouraged to register online since on-site registration will be limited. There is no fee but people are asked to make a donation. The walk starts at 10:15 a.m. Masks are required and people are asked to wear purple, the official color of the Alzheimer’s movement.

Hundreds of people will gather in West Sacramento this weekend for a walk that raises awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The 2021 Walk to End Alzheimer’s happens Saturday morning. All money raised will go to the Alzheimer’s Association for research, care and support services.

Alexandra Castillo-Weisgerber with the Alzheimer’s Association said that people often know about memory loss with Alzheimer’s but another issue with the disease is “sometimes its changes in personality, the ability to do things that you once did with ease.”

She said that her grandmother always made an apple pie that tasted perfect “and then we started to taste that something is different here.”

“While it is very difficult to see your loved one change throughout the course of the disease, we do believe that there are ways for individuals to live well,” Castillo-Weisgerber said. “We have support groups for people who are in the early stages where they can connect with who are experiencing something similar.”

At those support groups, people can talk about their fears or how frustrating it is not being able to drive anymore, she said. Family members can also find support through groups.

At Saturday’s event, people will walk 1 to 3 miles around Sutter Health Park. Participants are encouraged to register online since on-site registration will be limited.

There is no fee but people are asked to make a donation.

The walk starts at 10:15 a.m. Masks are required and people are asked to wear purple, the official color of the Alzheimer’s movement.