WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S

For Karen Holden, Saturday’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s hit home emotionally in a big way.

Her husband, Bill, died from dementia in August 2022. And her brother, Don Mullenbach, has been battling the mind robbing disease that offers no cure for the past 11 years.

“It’s very emotional for me,” said Holden, wiping away tears. “There are triggers, and today was a huge trigger.”

Holden, of Rochester, and a large group of family members came in support of Mullenbach, whose family was recognized as this year’s honorary family for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. They refer to themselves as Disco Don’s team, a name he inherited after traveling on bus tours and for his love of music. The annual event drew about 300 people at the Steele County History Center where Mullenbach and his wife, Sue, participate regularly in the center’s Memory Café designed specifically for families experiencing Alzheimer’s.

On this special day created to draw attention to Alzheimer’s, Holden said it’s an important time for her. “I know what Sue is going through with Don. I pray for them every night,” she said. “We cannot forget about the caregivers. It affects everyone.”

In Holden’s case with her husband, she reached a breaking point. While living in Blooming Prairie, she once found her husband “in the street, in the rain and on the ground.” She described living with him near the end as complete chaos.

About six months prior to his death, Holden placed him in a memory unit, one of the hardest things she ever had to do. “I couldn’t take care of him anymore. You lose sleep because you’re constantly giving care. I was having a nervous breakdown,” she said, adding she wanted nothing more than for him to stay with her.

While Mullenbach’s physical health is way better than Bill Holden’s was, Karen Holden finds that her brother’s dementia is way worse. Karen Holden said their families have learned how to lean on each other for support during these difficult times in dealing with family members with dementia.

“If you don’t have family, you don’t have anybody,” Holden says.

Disco Don’s team was the top rookie fundraising team for this year’s walk while Mary’s Angels was the overall top team, bringing in about $10,000. Over the past several years, Barry Thompson and his family of Owatonna representing Mary’s Angels has raised more than $120,000.

Organizers of the walk encouraged guests to remember that “every step you take brings us closer to a world without Alzheimer’s.”

This year saw a record year of 275 participants raising $57,000 as of Saturday morning in Steele County, according to Rebekah Hartman of the Alzheimer’s Association. Money will still be coming in with the goal of hitting $77,000, she said.

The funds raised from the walks across the state go to important research that “will lead us to more treatments, easier ways to diagnose and hopefully a cure,” Hartman said. She noted there have been significant inroads made on potential treatments, but nothing yet for a cure.

“An event like this provides a unique space and opportunity for people who have been affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia to find their community of support,” Hartman said. “We’re here whether you’ve lost someone or caring for someone or you yourself are diagnosed.”

Hartman said one in 10 people will be diagnosed with dementia within the next year. Currently, 99,000 people are diagnosed every year with that number expected to grow to 120,000. The main reasons for the significant hike, she said, are the aging population and people are also diagnosed with the disease earlier than in the past.

Alzheimer’s is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. It’s the most common type of dementia and the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. While the disease generally hits people 65 or older, it can strike as early as 40.

On average, a person with Alzheimer’s lives four to eight years after diagnosis but can live as long as 20 years.

While Holden gets emotional thinking about her husband being gone, she takes comfort in knowing he’s not suffering any longer.