EAST HARTFORD- The Walk to End Alzheimer's brought thousands of people together Sunday morning, to show support for one another and the many ways the disease can impact people's lives.
The Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer's Association hosts the walk as a fundraiser, to be able to continue to provide resources for people with the disease, as well as their caregivers and families."We’re just providing whatever support we can and that’s through community education, support groups, you name it, we do it," said Kristopher Sortwell, the Community Outreach and Education Director.
An emotional part of the walk is called the Promise Garden, where people hold up flowers of different colors, to show how the disease has impacted them. A purple flower means you have lost someone to the disease, yellow means you are caring for someone, orange means you support the cause, and blue means you have dementia or Alzheimer's.
Esther Corcoran lost her husband Mark to young-onset Alzheimer's. He was diagnosed when he was just 56 years old.
" One of my favorite pictures, is a picture of Mark holding the blue flower which represents people living with the disease, looking out at the crowd, and the picture was taken right when he knew that he was not alone," she said.
She now hopes to provide support for others through her work as a program director for the Alzheimer's Association.
The walk at Rentschler Field was one of several held throughout the state.