Viola Santore Rogers passed away at the age of 97 in 2012 after a slow decline from dementia and other ailments. “She was such a happy person…and so glamorous, like a movie star,” recalls Cheryl, who says her mother taught her to be a strong, independent woman, not only with words, but by example. “She never judged the decisions of any of her children and supported us because she loved us—it was that simple.”
Cheryl retired from a four-decade career as a speech and language pathologist to provide 24-hour care for Viola, who was diagnosed with dementia about 16 years before her death. “Mom did not think she had dementia. She would say she had some ‘age-related’ problems, but when she started having trouble while driving, and kept repeating stories and conversations over and over, we realized it was more than that.”
Like the 95,000 other Erie County residents estimated to provide care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia, Cheryl needed guidance, and answers, and often, a gentle nudge when she was stubborn. “I was having a hard time accepting the situation and feeling utterly helpless. A wonderful woman from the Western New York Alzheimer’s Association led a support group that allowed me to vent when I needed to, and gave me strong shoulders to lean on.”
The Alzheimer’s Association WNY Chapter provides education, outreach and care consultations across eight counties to help the estimated 55,000 people who have Alzheimer’s or other dementia. The Chapter receives no federal funding and a small percentage of its annual budget comes from state grants. The vast majority of the funds needed for programs and resources comes from donations made through the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which also provides money for research to find effective treatments and hopefully, an end to the disease. The Buffalo Walk gets underway with registration at 8:30 a.m. at Delaware Park near the Buffalo Zoo, with free admission to the Zoo after the Walk.
Cheryl will be walking, carrying one of the vinyl pinwheel flowers all registered walkers receive to be part of a special ceremony at the start of the Walk. “Mom LOVED her garden. When she moved to a nursing facility, we would spend hours just sitting and laughing and talking in the garden, so it’s fitting that I will take part in the Promise Garden ceremony in her memory.”
Registration for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is available online at www.alz.org/wny or by calling 1.800.272.3900. Walks are also set in Niagara County (Artpark) and Genesee County (Batavia) on September 28 and in the Village of Warsaw in Wyoming County on October 5.
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is made possible through the generous support of these fine local companies: Elderwood Senior Care, West Herr, Columbus McKinnon, and Tim Hortons, with media support provided by WTSS-FM and WKBW-TV.
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