The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
LUMINARIES TO SHINE
Fundraiser set to help promote Alzheimer’s awareness
People who want to join the fight against Alzheimer’s disease can help at an event this month.
Lorain resident Sylvia Soto Brown is offering luminaries as a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. They will go on display at Lorain’s Lakeview Park, 1800 W. Erie Ave., on June 21, the longest daylight of the year.
June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. The day is symbolic, representing the challenging journey that Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers must deal with the disease.
The fight is personal for Brown, 55, who watched her mother, Isabel Soto, and four sisters deal with the disease.
“It’s very hard, very hard, to watch a loved one go through it, because in the final stage, they become almost like a baby,” she said.
Brown said she watched her mother become irritated at forgetting things.
Many patients may face depression due to their struggles to find words and recover their memories, she said.
Eventually, many patients forget the names of their loved ones, Brown said.
“That’s one of the hardest parts to deal with in this horrible
disease,” she said.
Brown and her siblings helped care for their mother, who needed residential care.
But Isabel Soto was in excellent health until the disease struck her in the 1980s, her daughter said.
In society, older adults suffering memory loss sometimes become the butt of jokes, but people may not realize the emotional toll that the disease takes on patients and their families, Brown said.
There have been medical developments to help the disease. The exact cause is unknown and there is no cure.
Brown said she hopes there will be, someday.
“I do it for my kids and my grandkids,” she said.
“Hopefully, it won’t be so devastating for the next generation of my kids, my nieces and nephews.”
Brown, who assists non English speaking students at Lorain’s Washington Elementary School, has hosted other fundraisers for the Alzheimer’s Association.
She said the luminaries are the first she is aware of to be used for Alzheimer’s disease awareness and fundraising in Lorain.
Luminaries are available
for a $5 donation. Anyone interested can call Brown at 440-670-4954.
The luminaries will be white paper bags decorated with purple elephants. Purple is the color for Alzheimer’s awareness, and in folklore, elephants are thought to be animals with great memories.
The event, starting at 6 p.m., is free and open to the public. The luminaries will be illuminated at dusk.
Some luminaries will be available at Lakeview Park, but it is preferable to call ahead for planning purposes.
It also is possible to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association online.