Alzheimer’s walk speaks to the value of caregivers
The 11th annual walk for Alzheimer’s will take place at Sherbrooke’s Domaine Howard Park this coming Sunday morning, starting at 10 a.m. The Sherbrooke walk will be one of more than 100 similar walks taking place at the same time across the country in the name of supporting the mission of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, which works to improve the quality of life of those living with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers.
“You learn to live in the present when caring for someone with Alzheimer’s,” shared Brigitte Marcoux, the Radio-canada journalist who is serving as the local walk’s honorary spokesperson for the second year in a row. “You have to learn how to talk to them; they don’t know that they ate this morning, they don’t know what they did last night. You’re always in the present.”
Marcoux explained that her mother
was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in 2008 after years of warning signs. Although she, her sisters, and her brother all rallied around their parents at the time, the spokesperson shared that the experience of becoming a caregiver can be exhausting and isolating if not handled well.
“If you can’t take care of yourself, then it is hard to take care of somebody else,” Marcoux said, adding that she feels many people take on the duty of caregiving without realizing the burden they’ve taken on. “You kind of feel like you are self-sufficient, but actually you don’t see the fatigue coming on. It is exhausting.”
Marcoux pointed out that the degenerative nature of the disease makes it such that the needs of the person with the diagnosis shift and change over time, and the demands on his or her caregivers change along with that. The result is a kind of isolation and burnout for those people who do not know how to ask for help and seek the resources that exist in the community.
“I feel I have learned a lot in the last ten years and I can help people,” she continued, explaining that she will be speaking as a part of a ceremony to follow the walk this coming Sunday.
Marcoux’s mother was 68 at the time of her diagnosis and remained at home until five years ago when she moved into the Argyll Pavillion. Her father passed away two years ago, and the journalist said that she feels his death is due at least in part to the “heartbreaking and demanding” work of being a full-time caregiver.
“Statistics show that the caregivers tend to go faster,” Marcoux said, underlining the importance of support and respite services like those offered locally by the Alzheimer Society.
The spokesperson said that the majority of those she saw come out to the walk last year were caregivers seeking support, and she encouraged others to reach out and participate this year.
Although Alzheimer’s is a hereditary condition, Marcoux said that she doesn’t let family history loom over her head.
“I don’t really think about that anymore,” she said, sharing the belief that a cure of reliable treatment is on the way some time in the next 20 years. “You have to seize the day and live in the moment; enjoy what you have now. You could have a car accident tomorrow, anything could happen.”
Emilie Lefort, communications representative with the Alzheimer Society explained that people interested in participating in this year’s walk can show up as early as 9 a.m. to register on-site, although the walk is not set to get underway until 10 a.m. Registration is also possible through the society’s website, www.marchepourlalzheimer.ca. The cost is $15 for adults or $30 for a family of two adults and two children.
“It’s a loop,” Lefort said, explaining that the walk is five kilometres in total. “We leave from the Domaine Howard and then come back.”
Following the walk organizers have, for the first time this year, planned a commemorative ceremony including speeches and a commemorative f loating of flowers in the park’s pond in memory of loved ones with the disease.
More information about the Alzheimer Society in the Eastern Townships is available (in French) at www.alzheimerestrie.com or by calling 819 821-5127.