CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The 14th annual Face to Face Walk for Memory took place downtown on Saturday morning. More than 200 people took part in person, while 150 viewed the event virtually.
A morning walk with a greater purpose to bring awareness and hopefully, one day, a cure to Alzheimer’s disease. For Patricia Scott, her reason for walking hits close to home.
"You have to have a purpose, and more so, a reason with that purpose,” Scott said. “For my dad, my grandmother, a family member—somebody you love. It gives you a purpose. And yeah, it might be a little bit windy, and it might be, what, three miles? But it gives you a purpose."
Those miles were no match for these happy participants. The event's founder, Dr. Nestor Praderio, created the walk so people can be more comfortable talking about the disease. But it's also about how to prepare for it.
“The walk is made by different parts. The ones who went through the experience and the pain of this traumatic disease and the one who is listening, what is coming ahead for my mother and father," Praderio said.
“It brings awareness, especially for the Hispanic community that sometimes, (doesn't) talk about it,” Scott said. “Like, for instance, we didn't know what was wrong with my grandmother. They just put her away. They couldn't deal with it. Now that we know, I vowed with my siblings that we're not going to put my parents away. We're just going to deal with it."
That shift in approach is exactly why Dr. Praderio started the walk. If people are even willing to talk about Alzheimer's, then something can be done about it.
"In general, people vocalize and talk about disease because then they can offer a treatment for the disease,” Praderio said.
There might not be a cure, but seeing how many people came out at 9 a.m. on a Saturday to help out with that effort, is certainly a step in the right direction.
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