CLEVELAND — Alzheimer’s is a disease that hits home for Matt Siebert and his family.
His grandma passed away from Alzheimer's in 2010 and his dad has recently been diagnosed.
What You Need To Know
- About 220,000 people live with Alzheimer’s disease in Ohio
- Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia
- More than 2,000 people took part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s held in Cleveland
- Nearly $500,000 was raised
“We never dreamed that we'd be hit by it again. And my dad was diagnosed about a year and a half ago. So it has extra special meaning now, being here for both my grandma and my dad,” said Siebert.
Siebert and his family were just a few of thousands of people who came out to the 2021 Walk to End Alzheimer's held at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Sunday, Oct. 3.
“This is really, really meaningful,” said Siebert. “And this is why I've been involved with it for so long. When you look around, you see that, I mean, it is affecting millions of people, not millions here today, but you see how many people are affected by this disease. And it gives you some type of, you know, there's a comfort or togetherness, or a community when you get out here and you see it.”
Each person carried a different color flower that personalized what each one of them is going through.
Blue represents someone living with Alzheimer's or another dementia. Purple is for those who have lost someone to the disease. Yellow represents someone who is currently supporting or caring for a person living with Alzheimer's. And orange is for those who support the cause and share the idea of a world without Alzheimer's and all other forms of dementia.
This is the 8th walk Seibert has attended.
He became heavily involved a few years after his grandma passed. He’s now the mission chair on the Cleveland Walk to End Alzheimer’s planning committee.
“My family, obviously, you know, is one example, but there are millions and millions and millions of people across the country who, really right now don't have much hope,” said Siebert. “And something as devastating as this, we need hope. And so yeah, we're gonna keep walking and raising money and doing everything we possibly can do to help find a cure.”
Siebert said it's empowering to see thousands of people, each with a different story, come together for one goal, to find a cure.
“I start to think about myself. I start to think about my son who's gonna be five years old in a couple months. And we cannot let it keep going from generation to generation. We have to find a way to stop it," said Siebert.
For more information on the Walk to End Alzheimer's, click here. To donate to the cause, click here.