Jefferson City Walk to End Alzheimer’s raises over $129,000
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Sunday was the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Jefferson City. Over $129,000 was raised for research into the disease, a new record.
There is no cure, but the Alzheimer's Association is hoping to change that.
Sunday afternoon in Jefferson City, nearly 400 people from over 70 teams walked to raise awareness and money for a terrible disease: Alzheimer's.
The memory loss disease mostly impacts people over 65. An estimated 6.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's.
Several members of the ABC 17 family have lost loved ones to the disease, including morning anchor Meghan Drakas, who spoke at Sunday's walk.
"I truly believe that together we can end Alzheimer's and I can tell that by looking out into the sea of purple that I'm obviously not alone," Drakas said.
MU Health neurologist Dr. David Beversdorf says there is currently no cure for Alzheimer's and finding a cure would be life-changing for millions of people.
"So if we can find a treatment that helps, this is going to be big, but we're still waiting and still hoping," Beversdorf said.
The money raised from today's walk will largely go to research, with the hope of one day ending Alzheimer's.
"All we can really control are the decisions that we make today. And if we put good into today, we do our best to make a better future for ourselves," said Joe Pallikkathayil with the Jefferson City Walk to End Alzheimer's.
