Christina Ebey is no stranger to Alzheimer’s disease. In high school, her grandmother died from the disease. Thirty years later, Ebey is watching her aunt suffer from it.
Her experiences led her to the Alzheimer’s Association, where she has been involved for six years and currently serves as the chair for this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Gainesville.
Ebey was one of the nearly 1,000 participants, according to the association’s estimates, in the sea of orange, yellow, blue and purple flowers Saturday morning. Each flower represented a different connection to the disease.
“Alzheimer’s touches way too many people in our lives,” Ebey said.
The annual event, hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association, takes place in cities across the country and fundraises for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Gainesville’s walk took place at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Allison Jaffe is another participant who has strong ties to the disease.
Her mother has late-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia, and has been living in a Gainesville memory care facility for about two years.
“It’s hard to put into words because each day is different,” Jaffe said. “It’s a roller coaster of emotions.”
Jaffe said her mother is often confused and doesn’t understand what’s going on.
“It just breaks all of our hearts,” she said. “She still is my best friend and I talked to her every day even when I didn’t live here. I never thought that this would happen.”
Jaffe said she walks for her mother, in addition to other people living with the disease and their caregivers and families.
To cope, Jaffe has joined a support group and has become very close with the members. She has also become close with the memory care staff and other patients in her mother’s facility.
As of 2020, Florida has the second largest population of Alzheimer’s patients in the country, second to California. Nearly 580,000 people aged 65 and older have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s statewide, including 5,000 in Alachua County.
Matthew Eaton, the vice president of communications for the association’s Florida region, said the walk brings in people from all over the county.
“It's very much a community family event, so lots of good groups that come,” he said. “So we always get a good turnout.”
When Eaton was growing up, his grandmother suffered from dementia, and Eaton saw how it affected his family and his own life.
“I don't want anyone else to have to go through that,” he said.
While there currently is no cure for the disease, events like Walk to End Alzheimer’s hope to find one.
Before the walk started, Alissa Davis, the team captain for Edward Jones, presented one white flower to represent the first survivor of Alzheimer’s disease.
“We must not back down,” she said. “We must continue to lead the way because together, we can end Alzheimer’s.”