Couple raises Alzheimer’s awareness
Fortuna couple volunteers time with Walk to End Alzheimer’s
When John Schmidt’s mother, Margie, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, he put together a team of professionals, friends and neighbors to aid him in caring for his mother. Now that she’s passed, John and his wife, Terry, give back to the Alzheimer’s Association by volunteering their time on the Walk to End Alzheimer’s committee.
Margie Schmidt was one of four children born in Indiana. Despite growing up poor during the Great Depression, Margie had a great attitude toward life. She was friendly, kind and always offered to help people. She enjoyed demonstrating food in grocery stores and always had a joke to share.
After World War II, Margie met her husband at a Ryerson Steel Mill dance and moved to California. She became a telephone operator and worked there for several years.
“She received so many notes from her employer thanking her for helping customers,” said John Schmidt. “She used to keep a tally sheet every time someone called and asked about a restaurant. Whichever one received the most tallies was the one we would eat at that week. We had so many wonderful experiences because of it.”
Because of the way she was raised, Margie was of the mindset that you didn’t want to be a burden on your family. This made it that much harder for her son when she began to show signs of dementia.
“Mom was living in Redding, and I was in Sacramento,” he said. “I knew she was getting older, but when her apartment manager started calling me to let me know that she was doing strange things, I began to worry.”
Since her husband’s death five years prior, Margie had been living alone. Every time, her son would come to visit her, she would clean up her whole house and pretend that everything was fine. However, he could see through “the act.”
In 2004, on his mother’s 83rd birthday, John Schmidt decided it was time for her to move in with him.
“She didn’t know she wasn’t going to be coming back to her home,” he said. “She thought she was just visiting me for her birthday. It was that day that the role reversal began. I wasn’t just her son, I was now the parent.
“I remember getting a book that talked about Alzheimer’s,” he said. “The one thing I took away from that book was you have to put a team together to take care of your loved ones.”
John Schmidt began to assemble his team. At first, it was just his mother’s doctors. As he began to need more time off to care for his mother in different capacities, he realized he would also need the support of his employer.
“My employer was very helpful and understood my situation,” he said.
One of the most important parts of John Schmidt’s team was his support group.
“I attended a support group in Sacramento for many years,” he said. “It let me know I wasn’t alone. There are people out there with problems similar to mine. Even though everyone has a unique situation, there is a commonality to what you’re having to deal with. We’re not alone. There are resources to help us.”
As the disease progressed, John Schmidt knew he couldn’t continue to care for his mom on his own. He expanded his team to include his neighbors.
“I had one neighbor who knew of a caregiver who was available,” he said. “Sandy was very experienced and helpful. Since she lived a short distance away she was always available to help out. I was able to continue to work because of their help.”
From there, John’s team grew to include his wife, Terry.
“I met John when his mother was living with him,” Terry Schmidt said. “I had a step-grandfather that had passed away from Alzheimer’s, so I understood what John was going through. I’m a caregiver by nature and I like doing that kind of thing.”
In 2017, two years after his mother passed, John and Terry Schmidt moved to Fortuna. They heard a radio ad asking for volunteers for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
“It caught my ears and we called the Alzheimer’s Association and signed up to volunteer,” he said.
They both signed up for the Humboldt County Walk to End Alzheimer’s committee. There are seven subcommittees to join that include things such as recruiting new teams, spreading the word about the walk and the Alzheimer’s Association or even figuring out day-of logistics.
The couple joined two different subcommittees that played to their individual strengths. She enjoys the creative aspect of helping people share their memories on walk day. As a member of the mission subcommittee, Terry Schmidt helped build a memory wall to use on walk day.
“The first year we just had a few people put pictures of their loved ones who have or had the disease on the wall,” she said. “The next year, we received even more pictures and we filled the whole wall.”
John Schmidt’s favorite place to be is leading the logistics subcommittee.
“I enjoy figuring out the route walkers will take and working around unexpected things, like construction zones,” he said.
This year’s walk will be different. Participants are not coming together like they normally do. Instead, the Alzheimer’s Association is asking people to walk in their own communities on walk day. Because of this, Terry and John Schmidt won’t be planning the route or working on a memory wall. Instead, he is working with city councils to find locations to display the viewonly Promise Gardens, which will be filled with promise flowers to honor caregivers, supporters and those living with the disease. These gardens will be placed in Rio Dell, Scotia, Hydesville, Fortuna, Ferndale, Eureka, Arcata, Blue Lake, McKinleyville and Trinidad starting Thursday.
She, on the other hand, is spending her time finding items to put into gift baskets that will be given away at a celebration party held after the walk.
“Terry makes beautiful baskets,” said Kim Coelho, walk manager for the Humboldt County Walk to End Alzheimer’s. “The committee is doing what they can, knowing that some folks and businesses are more affected by the pandemic than others.”
Terry and John Schmidt are still relatively new to the area, but that doesn’t stop them from encouraging as many people as they can to participate in the walk.
“We send letters and talk to our friends and neighbors,” he said. “It’s an evolving thing. People who can’t or don’t want to walk can always make a donation to our team.”
The Schmidts want to find a cure, and they know that money raised from the Walk to End Alzheimer’s directly supports research.
This year, the Alzheimer’s Association is encouraging participants to walk as individuals or in small groups on sidewalks, tracks and trails across Humboldt County. Register for the walk at act.alz.org/humboldt2020. There’s no cost to register and no limit on the size of a team.
The fifth annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s will take place Oct. 10. Participants will watch the opening and Promise Garden ceremonies online starting at 9 a.m. followed by walking at 9:30 am. For more information, contact Kim Coelho at 707-407-8826 or kcoelho@ alz.org.