Since 1989, millions of people have laced up their shoes to honor loved ones impacted by Alzheimer’s disease or complications from dementia with the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
With every step taken to help support research, News 9 spoke to Oklahoma City Walk to End Alzheimer’s board member Herb Magley to learn more about this year’s walk.
Why are you so involved in the Alzheimer’s Walk and helping others with the disease?
Magley: I lost my wife to it. We went through 13 years of this, and she was kind of the brains of our outfit, so it was tough to watch the decline. I decided when we were most of the way through that, that I was going to spend the rest of my life trying to help caregivers get through this.
What do you do now?
Magley: I lead five support groups here in Oklahoma City. I do educational programs. I even do some entertainment. I’m a geologist, I call it rock shows without the Beatles, sticks and stones. Memory care communities, assisted living, and independent. I’ve done over 200 of those.
It’s okay to admit that you need help, right?
Magley: So many people don’t [ask for help]. We lose one out of every five Alzheimer’s family caregivers before the person they’re taking care of. That’s what I want to stop. If we can get them into support groups, education programs, our 800 helpline, we don’t lose them.
This disease does not discriminate, and I think that’s a big message for so many people watching.
Magley: Absolutely. I mean, anybody can get it. People think, well, I don’t have the gene, but that doesn’t matter. You can still get it without the gene.
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