The Mruk Family Education Center on Aging is encouraging the Twin Lakes Area to “Get Your Purple On for Alzheimer’s!” Local residents are asked to wear purple on November 3rd to recognize and show support for those battling the disease. Mruk Center will also host an open house that day from 9 to 4 to display its Alzheimer’s resources.
President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in 1983 when two million Americans had the disease. That number has climbed to over five million, and by 2050, it’s expected to soar to over 13 million.
Mruk Center Coordinator Diahanne VanGulick was a recent guest of the Talk of the Town on KTLO-FM, and she says Alzheimer’s is a debilitating disease that can lead to feelings of isolation not just for the patient, but also for the caretaker.
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The Mruk Center has purple t-shirts for sale at $15 with the phrase “Get Your Purple On for Alzheimer’s!” In addition to wearing purple on November 3rd, participants are encouraged to have pictures taken of themselves and posting to Baxter Regional Medical Center’s Facebook.
Another program on Alzheimer’s Diseason will be featured one week later on November 10th. “Caring for the Caregiver” will start at 10:30 a.m. in the Lagerborg Dining Room of Baxter Regional Medical Center, and the featured speaker will be Betsy Broyles Arnold. She is the daughter of the late Frank Broyles, and VanGulick says the former University of Arkansas football coach and athletic director saw firsthand what the disease can do.
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For more information on these programs, contact VanGulick at 870-508-3880 or evangulick@baxterregional.org.
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