Walk for a cause
Participants remember loved ones during Walk for Alzheimer’s in Summerside
When Jonathan MacDougall was participating in the Walk for Alzheimer’s in Summerside Sunday, he was remembering his grandmother, Faustina MacDougall.
When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, things don’t get better. Jonathan MacDougall heartbreakingly lost his grandmother, Faustina MacDougall, to Alzheimer’s disease.
“It was very difficult because she didn’t always recognize family members, their faces, and just wasn’t the same grandmother I had known my whole life,” he said.
Alzheimer’s is progressive as brain cells degenerate and die resulting in the loss of memory and mental function. With an aging population, the number of Islanders with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is growing.
Giselle MacKinnon, a volunteer at the fundraising Walk for Alzheimer’s in Summerside on Sunday, said the disease is stressful on everyone.
“My mother [Eileen Sutherland] was diagnosed with vascular and mixed dementia in 2008 and passed away in 2013. My aunt, her sister, is now living with dementia and is in long-term care. When I visit her, I see the same symptoms and behaviours that I saw in my mother.” MacKinnon continued, “It was a long process (five years) with my mother and we continually
saw things go away. We did have good times and tried to make the most of every day, but … I think you grieve through the process.”
The annual fundraiser, Walk for Alzheimer’s, kicked off Sunday at the Shipyard Market in Summerside at 1 p.m.
Proceeds help ensure families
receive education and support through the Alzheimer’s Society on P.E.I. and fund research into the cause and cure. “We need to learn how to
help people with dementia live the best life that they can,” concluded MacKinnon.