FORT MYERS, Fla. — Hundreds of people walked across Florida SouthWestern's campus on Saturday to raise money for Alzheimer's research.
For some, the walk was personal.
Jeff Edwards said his wife, Bunny, suffers from Alzheimer's. It's a type of dementia that gets worse over time, according to the Alzheimer's Association. People can have memory loss and struggle to hold a conversation.
WATCH: Jeff Edwards shares his wife's journey with Alzheimer's:
“It’s like, okay, here’s a person and then they don’t remember you. And then what do you do from there?," Edwards said. "So there’s a lot of stress. A lot of energy. A lot of work. But there’s hope. That’s what you gotta go with.”
500 people registered for Saturday's event according to Irene Montagnino, executive chair of the walk. The Alzheimer's Assocation is an Illinois-based nonprofit that supports Alzheimer's research and awareness. The group hosts walks like this around the country.
The Lee County walk raised more than $120,000 this year, according to a spokesperson. The goal is to raise $160,000, Montagnino said. She said Alzheimer's is a big issue in Florida.
Alzheimer's symptoms tend to appear in people aged 65 years and older, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In 2023, more than 580,000 Floridians have Alzheimer’s, according to University of Florida Health. One study published last year said Florida has the second-highest number of people with Alzheimer's in the country.
The Alzheimer's Association said there is no cure for the disease, although medication can help. On Saturday, people worked to change that one step at a time.
“We want the cure," Montagnino said. "That’s why we hope. We hope for the cure.”
Several groups donated money, including the Neuropsychiatric Research Center of Southwest Florida. The center conducts clinical studies, according to its website. John Huffaker and his daughter Darian work there. They both participated in the walk.
Right now, the center is running about 20 Alzheimer's and cognitive impairment disease studies, John said.
“We have a ton of patients that we work with at the research center who are obviously suffering from a very terrible disease,” Darian said. “So we like to get out here and show that we support them and we’re going to be doing whatever we can to hopefully find a way, to hopefully find a cure for the disease.”
Before the walk, people held up plastic flowers in solidarity with Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers.
“It gives you hope, it gives you resources," Edwards said. "And hopefully it’ll give a cure, somewhere down the road."
