The 2018 Walk to End Alzheimer's for Jefferson City is a week away.
The annual walk - part of the world's largest event intended to raise awareness of and funds for Alzheimer's care, support and research - is one of more than 600 conducted nationwide.
Because of construction around the Missouri State Capitol, this year's walk will be Oct. 7 at Ellis-Porter Riverside Park, 1425 Riverside Drive. Registration begins at 11 a.m., with a ceremony at noon and the walk beginning at 12:20 p.m.
The local walk has raised about 80 percent of its 2018 goal, of$79,000.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, 308 people have already signed up for the walk.
Among them is Ashley Roling, of Wardsville, who became connected with the organization after her grandmother, Bernice Roling, was diagnosed.
"I was really close to her," Ashley said. "She passed away a little over two years ago."
Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It's a mental deterioration caused by degeneration of the brain, generally occurring in people 65 or older. It makes different parts of the brain shrink and is recognized as the leading cause of dementia - a general description of its symptoms.
When Ashley was very young and her mother was a single, working mother, Bernice would take care of her after school. Ashley and friends always looked forward to an ice cream cone when they got to Bernice's Wardsville house.
Soon, their roles reversed.
Her grandmother began showing signs of Alzheimer's disease in 2006-07.
"When I was in about seventh grade, she began to do things like wave or talk back to the TV," Ashley said.
Ashley's aunt became the grandmother's caregiver for a time, but the effort became too much for her to do by herself.
"My mom and I ended up moving in with my grandmother for a couple of years and taking care of her," Ashley said. "I was really young, but it taught me a lot about responsibility."
She would walk home from school to check on the woman, to be certain she was OK.
"I played games with her and cooked for her and just sat with her," she said. "The roles kind of reversed. She took care of me when I was younger."
About six years ago, the Roling family began participating in the walks. At 92, Bernice died in 2016, but the team continues to participate.
"The Alzheimer's Association provides support and funding for those suffering from the disease and (for) the caregivers," Ashley said. "It is a challenging and confusing time for the family, and it's important for people to know they aren't alone."
Family and friends make up a team of 30-40 people - Roling to an End to Alzheimer's - who are helping to raise money during the annual walk.
It is one of 41 teams in this year's walk.
Another team - Team Terri-fic Walkers - is participating for the first time.
Terri Walker learned this spring she had Alzheimer's disease, which is stunning, considering she was only 55 at the time.
Doctors had brushed off her struggles to find words and her tendency to repeat herself as side effects of medication she was taking to relieve migraine headaches. But a positron-emission tomography (PET scan) showed amyloid plaque - a buildup of protein plaques associated with the disease - on her brain.
After receiving the diagnosis, Walker and her husband, David, began a holistic approach to treating the disease's symptoms. In addition to taking medicine, she began eating healthier, including healthy oils. She focuses on getting exercise, which appears to help.
"I've been trying to take care of myself," Walker said. "I have some really bad days - I just forget things."
She also has been invited to join in a research study on the disease at Washington University. The university is paying her and David to drive up for regular assessments.
And she started her Walk to End Alzheimer's team. It has raised nearly $2,500 already.
"I never dreamed that I'd get this much," Walker said. "I imagine it will climb a little bit more before the walk."
Once connected with the walk, people seem to stay with it, Roling said.
And they cherish their memories.
Since her grandmother's death, Ashley has bought the house where Bernice lived. Her grandmother's wedding dress hangs in a frame over Ashley's headboard.
"If what I do to help the cause now helps another family down the road not have to go through what my grandma and family went through, like so many other families," Ashley said, "then it will all be worth it."