A greater cause: Walk to End Alzheimer's serves as celebration of life

The Walk To End Alzheimer's long has been recognized as a worthy fundraiser and a time to remember friends and loved ones whose lives have been claimed by the tragic disease. The walk, now in its 17th year, also serves another purpose -- as a celebration of life and a show of strength by participants.

"It brings people together," said Debbie Kern, outreach coordinator of the St. Louis chapter of the Alzheimer's Association which serves 38 counties in eastern Missouri and western Illinois. "When people come together for a cause, they don't feel so alone."

The walk is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday in Cape County Park North. According to Kern, about 500 people participated in 2012's Alzheimer's walk.

"It actually started as a walk in West Park Mall," she said, "but it's grown to where we're expecting 600 to 700 people to take part this year."

Jill Braswell of Cape Girardeau will be making her second appearance at Saturday's Alzheimer's walk. Braswell, along with her mother and sisters, will walk as members of "Eddie's Dream Team," named for her father, Edgar Rellegert, who lost his battle with Alzheimer's in July.

"We're walking for a greater cause," Braswell said. "We're doing it to raise awareness that this is a terrible disease and to also celebrate dad's life with each step we take."

Braswell, executive director of human resources at Chateau Girardeau Retirement Community, said her father had been outgoing and friendly before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011.

"He was Mr. Outdoors," she said. "When I was a softball pitcher growing up in Jackson, dad was an umpire," she said. "We had many spirited talks about my pitching and his calls behind the plate. He was also constantly working in the yard and tending to flowers."

The first signs of Alzheimer's in her father began to show in 2009, according to Braswell.

"He would forget things in his daily routine," she said. "He would go into the kitchen and forget how to spread butter on his bread. We all had a feeling that it could be Alzheimer's."

As the disease progressed and was diagnosed, Braswell said that it affected her father to the point that he would become mean and say "terrible things" to her and her family members.

"It was the disease, not dad," she said. "It was so out of character for him. He would say all kinds of hurtful things to us, but we all had to remember that it wasn't him."

In addition to the mental deterioration for which Braswell had been prepared, her father also suffered physical injury.

"Dad broke his hip in 2012 while he was trimming trees," Braswell said. "That's when he came to Chateau Girardeau. I was able to check on him several times a day, and it was a blessing to be able to do that. The care provided by his caregivers was fantastic, too. I don't know how they do it."

The disease continued to take its toll on Eddie Rellegert. Braswell said he stopped eating and drinking water in the days leading up to his death, and he died July 31 in the company of his family.

"For me and my family, the walk provides us with a way to remember dad and to fight the disease," she said. "I hope there's a cure for Alzheimer's in my lifetime."

Braswell said she hopes as many people as possible show up Saturday for the Walk To End Alzheimer's.

"The can just show up," she said. "They don't have to walk. Just their presence will be very important."

According to the 2012 Alzheimer's disease Facts and Figures Report issued by the Alzheimer's Association, an estimated 5.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, a figure that includes nearly 110,000 Missourians. One in eight older Americans has the disease, which is now the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S.

For more information or to register for the 2013 Walk To End Alzheimer's, contact the St. Louis chapter of the Alzheimer's Association at 800-272-3900 or visit alz.org/stl. To view the 2012 Alzheimer's disease Facts and Figures Report, visit alz.org.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address: 2400 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO