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Walk raises money for dementia care and research

The Investor’s Group Walk for Alzheimer’s will be held in Penticton on, May 6.
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MARK BRETT OUT FOR A WALK Grant and Sharon Stone of Summerland enjoy one of their favourite past times, just going for a walk together. On May 6, a walk will be held to raise money for Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias.

A fundraising walk in early May will raise money for Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias.

The Investor’s Group Walk for Alzheimer’s will be held in Penticton on Sunday, May 6.

An estimated 70,000 people in British Columbia live with dementia or care for someone with dementia.

The Penticton walk is one of more than 20 planned for the province.

Each community chooses an honouree who has been affected by dementia or who has contributed to the lives of people living with the disease.

The walk in the South Okanagan is in honour of Sharon Stone of Summerland.

In early 2017, after Stone had been diagnosed with dementia, she did a PET scan, a test that shows the blood flow to and from organs.

The result confirmed she had amyloid plaque, one of the indicators of Alzheimer’s disease, in her brain.

She immediately called her husband to deliver the news: “Honey,” she said, “I passed!”

“I was actually looking forward to getting on with it,” Stone said. “The whole family knew what was happening — and knew that I was hopefully being part of a cure.”

Jan Setter, chair of the Walk for Alzheimer, explains why she decided to become involved.

“With my father’s passing and my mother’s diagnosis I became interested in the embedded experiences of dementia as it redefines our environments and the roles we play in one another’s life,” she said.

“Every year it seems someone I know has been affected by, in some way, a dementia related disease. If the 2016 Statistics Canada census is correct, Canadian seniors outnumber Canadian children for the first time in census history. We are not yet a dementia-friendly society. Now, more than ever, we need to be.”

Funds raised at the Penticton Walk will go to local support and education programs, as well as research into the causes and cure for the disease.

The walk will be held at the Skaha Park Pavilion Rotary Centennial Pavilion in Penticton on Sunday, May 6. Registration is at 1 p.m. with the walk at 2 p.m.

To register, visit walkforalzheimers.ca or call Mary Beth Rutherford at 250-493-8182.

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MARK BRETT WALK HONOUREE Although she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago Summerland’s Sharon Stone lives each day to the fullest. Stone is this year’s Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s honouree which takes place in May. MARK BRETT WALK HONOUREE Although she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago Summerland’s Sharon Stone lives each day to the fullest. Stone is this year’s Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s honouree which takes place in May.