WASHINGTON — Sporting purple-colored jerseys, walkers of all ages put their feet into the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, the nation’s sixth leading cause of death.
As they stepped off the starting line, The Dupont Brass, a five-piece band from Howard University, blared “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Among those taking part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, organized by the Alzheimer’s Association, was Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III.
“My wife was diagnosed about six years ago with early onset, she had just turned 49,” explains Baker. “I have seen the challenges of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s and what they go through.
Baker was joined on the walk by his son and two daughters.
There are currently 5 million Americans living with the mind-robbing disease and the numbers are expected to grow dramatically in the years ahead as baby boomer’s age.
“I’m walking for my mother who we lost in 2010,” explained Susan Wagoner of Ashburn, Virginia, her fifth annual walk.
“The numbers are just astonishing and it needs to be researched and (the fight against it) really supported financially by our government,” Wagoner says.
The Alzheimer’s Association says the annual walk is the world’s largest event raising awareness and funds to fight the disease and to provide care to those who are stricken with it.
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