Lakeshore Advance, 2013-01-23, Page 1818 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, January 23, 2013
'See me, not the disease,' a goal Finkbeiners have accomplished
while walking for Alzheimer's
Susan Hundertmark
The Huron Expositor
With close to 25 people tackling the
27 -kilometre wink between Exeter and
Grand Bend and raising $2,200 for the
[heron County Alzheimer Society last
Saturday, ling Finkbeiner was beaming
with happiness at the end of day.
Walking 4-5 kilometres of that walk
himself, the GS -year-old, who initiated
the walk after his Alzheimer diagnosis
four years ago, is determined to complete
the 27 kilometres by the time the official
\Valk for Memories is held this Saturday
at schools around 1 luron County.
"Jive walked more this year than he did
last year. Last year he only walked a cou-
ple of blocks - he's stronger this year,"
says his wife Linda. "So, we'll walk every
day for a couple of kilometres and do it to
steps he can manage."
the Finkheiners, who moved recently
to Seaforth from Exeter, say their goal is
to encourage increased participation ill
the Alzheimer's Walk for Ntemories and
over the past four yield's, they've been
supported by an increasing number of
Moron County fire departments and
other community members, including
Grand Bend couple Roger and Mireille
Bumstead, who helped take a lead role
this year.
"We figure if two tied and 72 -year-old
Hien who both have Alzheimer's can gni
out in January and do 27 kilometres,
other people can show up at a local high
school and do half an hour of walking.
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Lynda Hellman-Rapley
Jim Finkbeiner, (facing camera) with Roger Bumstead and Billy Paton after annual walk, this year from Exeter
to Grand Bend, for the Huron County Alzheimer Society.
%Ve need more walkers," says
Linda.
One of Linda Finkbeiner's
greatest fears when her husband
Jim was diagnosed with Alzhe-
imer Disease was that friends and
neighbours would turn away and
start to treat him differently.
But, one of the goals the couple
has accomplished is noticing that
people' are now seeing Jim, not his
disease.
'"See ole, not the disease' is the
thence this year and Iim has done
so much to raise awareness about
the disease. felt pretty proud of
him," says Linda. "When he was
first diagnosed, people immedi-
ately stopped talking to lint and
started asking me how lim was
doing when he was standing right
there. But, after these walks, peo-
ple are speaking to Jim like they
always did:'
"I laving Alzheimer Disease
doesn't matter - if you had it, I
wouldn't treat you any different,"
adds fins, smiling that when
people remark on itis having
Alzheimer's, he says, "Don't
worry about it it's not catching.'
It's Jim's sense of humour that
has made the journey through
Alzheimer's a little easier for the
couple, says Linda.
"11e doesn't deny it, he's willing
to work with it, he's willing to steep
out into the limelight to help oth-
ers and he's willing to put up with
me," she smiles.
('hat's not to SUV the jtttlrttt'y
has been easy. In hindsight, Linda
says tate signs of Alzheimer's were
there before anyone started to
talk about it. lim signed up for a
computer course but didn't stick
with it. Ile stopped being inter-
ested in going out to socialize or
play cards and Linda started to
notice she had to repeat herself
when talking to Jim.
When she spoke to their sons,
they agreed that they'd noticed a
change in their dad and when she
spoke to Jinn's boss, he remarked
that Jilin wasn't the same man
he'd worked with for years.
When she sat down to talk
about it with her husband, Lire'
says lila made light of it at first 1.
a few days lister, agreed to sets the
doctor. After a (:'1 scan, they
received the diagnosis and Linda
quit her job right away.
"1 said I know 1 could have six
months or six years left with lira
,inti nu amount of money was
going to replace the tinge' 1 could
have with my husband," she says.
As lint's symptoms have pro.
gressed, Linda says she's had to
change' her attitude because she's
learned she can't change the
disease.
"\'tell have' to get inside tilt'
Alzheimer brain and understand
what's happening. 1 have to tell
myself, 'Ile doesn't understand so
shat up find another way
around it," she says.
1.intla says Jim has worked hard
CONTINUED > PAGE 19