MOLINE, Illinois — Hundreds gathered at Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline on Saturday for a Quad Cities 'Walk to end Alzheimer's.'
The international fundraiser included a two-mile path in downtown Moline for walkers to remember their loved ones and others who have ever been touched by the deadly form of dementia.
One person came from Minneapolis and described his grandmother who has dementia before and after she was diagnosed:
"[Before] she's really happy and laughs a lot," said walker Corwin Anderson."[Now] if she can, she speaks in a few words and when she tries to speak in full sentences it turns into gibberish pretty quickly."
Another attendee, Mindy Dodd, a health care worker, reflected back on memories from when she was a child and watching her grandmother take care of her ailing grandfather.
"You know he was always telling us jokes and just a really, really fun guy," Dodd said. "He never really lost the fun."
Before the walk started, attendees were asked to plant flowers in memory of their loved ones affected by Alzheimer's.
The blue flower meant that person has Alzheimer's. Yellow signified they were a caretaker for someone with the disease. The purple flower signified a person who had lost someone to Alzheimer's and orange represented someone who is a supporter for a future where this disease no longer exists.
Rhonda Elsbury, a volunteer on the walk's planning committee, said she hopes this event inspires others to reach out to people suffering from it.
"The money that we raise goes toward care, support, our 24-7 help line, and of course advancing research, to help us fight the disease and eventually find a cure," Elsbury said.
More than 6 million people in the United States live with the disease, according to organizers.
For updates on the Alzheimer's Association and the Walk to End Alzheimer's: click/tap here.