Robeson walking away memory loss

By Claude Chavis, Jr.
Staff Writer

From across eastern North Carolina, people gathered in Luther Britt Park in Lumberton Oct. 15 for the 2005 Alzheimer's Memory Walk. The walkers made memories as they greeted each other and exchanged the stories of their personal involvement with Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a degenerative disease that attacks the brain, and may currently affect as many as four million Americans. The disease was first described by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906. AD can affect people in their 40s and 50s, but most people are older.

The warning signs of AD include memory loss, difficulty performing familiar tasks, disorientation as to time and place, poor or decreased judgment, difficulty with learning and abstract thinking, changes in mood and personality and marked loss of initiative.

The Alzheimer's Memory Walk is the only fund-raising event for the disease. The money raised from the Walk is spent on educating the caregivers, families, and support groups working with those who have the disease. It also finances research into a cure.

Mary Scott has led the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Robeson County since its start in 1994. As a manager of the Alzheimer's Unit for Woodhaven Nursing and Alzheimer Care, she was very familiar with the effects of the disease on the victims and their families. She accepted the challenge of heading the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Robeson County.

For the past three years, Scott and Tony Jenkins have co-chaired the effort in Robeson County. They coordinate the fundraising that goes on behind the scenes for the Memory Walk.

After a warm-up and stretch led by Twila Chavis, the hour long Alzheimer’s walk began, strollers and all. It was followed with entertainment and refreshments.

Included in the entertainment was Paul “PJ - the Night Time DJ” Johnson of WKML FM 95.7 Country Radio. This was Paul's first Walk, and he said it provided a good memory for him to take home.

Scott is sponsoring a Giant Yard Sale in early November at Woodhaven Nursing and Alzheimer's Care. Donations can be made by contacting Scott at: Scott03@srmc.org.