'It's Important For Us:' Hundreds Attend Walk To End Alzheimer's In Tulsa

Looking at a picture of Colin Oetken’s mother, you wouldn’t think anything is wrong. She’s got a big beaming smile and an outgoing personality … she’s also battling an intense disease.

“My mom was recently, last several years, diagnosed with dementia,” he said. 

Oekten’s life has been profoundly impacted, alongside his mother’s, and he says that can be hard to address. He also lost his grandfather to Alzheimer's while he was in college.

“It’s kind of an internal struggle,” he said. 

Saturday, at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, those invisible struggles, whether caregiver or fighter, are being made visible to all, through walking and color.

Participants are given a flower that corresponds with the reason they choose to walk. Blue represents someone with Alzheimer’s, purple represents someone who has lost a loved one, yellow represents someone who is a caregiver of someone with the disease, and orange represents someone who may not have a personal connection but is committed to the cause.

“It's important for us as in the community of Tulsa, to lock arms and raise awareness for the disease, for the impact,” said Lisa Meacham.

She doesn’t have a personal connection but sees that impact every day.

As the founder of Beehive Homes in Glenpool, Meacham says she witnesses the devastation of Alzheimer’s firsthand, but encourages those who are living with it and their families to hang on to hope.

“Just because we have some type of dementia or disease of the brain, doesn't mean that we shouldn’t do anything,” she said. 

And this event shows that, like Alzheimer’s, resilience can’t always be seen, but through every step taken … it is deeply felt.