October 26, 2024, is the day I walk in memory of my mom, Laurie, my Gram, and all those with Alzheimer's and dementia. I am proud to be involved in my 6th Walk to End Alzheimer's.

For those who don't know, when you get to the Walk to End Alzheimer's event, you get to choose a flower. Each color represents your relationship with Alzheimer's or another dementia. In 2018, I held the yellow flower, characterizing my family as my grandmother's caregiver. In 2019, I traded in my yellow flower for a purple one. The purple flower represents losing someone to Alzheimer's or dementia. My Gram passed away in 2019.

In 2021, I started to hold multiple flowers: purple for my grandma and yellow for my mom. I had the honor of caring for my mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at age 64 after showing signs and going through testing four years prior. My family had transitioned back into the role of caregiver for my mother as we navigated this difficult disease. It breaks my heart that my family again set down and retired the yellow flower in May of 2023 when my mom passed away from early-onset Alzheimer's. 

I have learned so much in this journey, but one of the hardest things I have learned is how to grieve someone who is still alive. To start saying goodbye to someone who has started to forget who you are and who they are. Each person progresses differently with the disease, but what has hit home most was looking my mother in the eyes and her not knowing who I am; this disease took my mom away even when I saw her every day and long before she passed.

For this reason and so many others, I walk in memory of my mom, Laurie, and my Gram and have the honor of being one of Barbara's Beauties.

Note: Barbara's Beauties was the name of my Grandma Brochu's bowling team that she and my mother were on for many years.