Walk to End Alzheimer on the community

Penny Baggett took a selfie each time, hoping it could be reminiscent of her father.

She took them with her father, Don Taggart, and enjoyed doing so in front of a cut by John Wayne in his father's memory care community.

Taggart was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, leading to changes in thinking, movement, behavior and mood. He always remembered Baggett, but always asked why she did not come to see him, even though she visited him two or three times a week.

The selfies were a way to show her that she had stopped, that she was remembering him.

"You do not know what to do. You're just trying to do your best, "said Baggett, 59, about the management of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

The selfies ended on November 5, 2016, when Taggart died at the age of 84 years of kidney failure. His death ended a seven-year battle that was confusing, frustrating and sad for Baggett and his family, especially for his mother, Barbara, whom Baggett described as Taggart's hero and main guardian.

Baggett will be taking part in the first-ever Walk to End Alzheimer's Disease, which will begin recording at 10 am Sunday before the start of the 11 am walk. The walk has already raised more than $ 80,000. Baggett will walk with "Team Forget Me Not", which raised more than $ 10,000.

Baggett has already participated in two previous walks in Portland. The first time she walked, she cried because she was happy to have found a community that felt like her.

"It was tears to realize that I was no longer alone. There were thousands of people who lived the same thing as me, "she explained. "I did not know there were so many people with this disease. I did not know that there were so many resources for me.

At first, Baggett and his family attributed Taggart's symptoms to a mild stroke. Taggart did not visit doctors because his illnesses made him think they were not trustworthy. So there was no official diagnosis until his brain was given to the BHSU Brain Bank.

But with the help of Randall Woltjer, a doctor at Oregon's University of Health and Science, Baggett was able to conclude that his father probably had a Lewy body before he died.

This meant that Baggett could contact the Alzheimer's Association and take advantage of their free resources. The 24/7 hotline was particularly helpful for Baggett, whose mind was bothering with questions such as: How am I supposed to feel with my father this way? How can I handle this? How can I master him without knowing my mother, but he's always looking for her?

She watched Lewy Body "steal" Taggart from the man he was. The amusing political debates they were engaged in were replaced by his irritability. The man who was a veteran of the US Air Force took Baggett digging, camping, crabbing and fishing in the ocean as he grew up.

Taggart thought that there was a revolution going on, that people were going to kill him. He had nocturnal hallucinations and thought his wife was feeding the animals. Baggett could say that her father was not happy and debated the ethics of whether she should tell him about the illnesses he was suffering from.

This is a question she asked the hotline. They responded that what she was doing was called "therapeutic lie," where one cheats on someone because it is in their interest. This explanation brought comfort to Baggett.

"Awareness is huge in this disease," said Baggett. "There is no treatment, but you can get a diagnosis and help."

When Baggett walks on Sundays, she goes for a walk for two people: her father and herself. Through a 23andMe DNA test, Baggett discovered that she had the Alzheimer's gene. She did the test for other reasons, not knowing that she was stalking Alzheimer's, and was saddened to discover it.

She said she did not want to forget about her loved ones, be a burden to her family or be constantly scared, but now she understands that she should not dwell on things beyond her control. She plans to handle this Sunday by putting one foot in front of the other.

"I will walk until I can not walk for this group," Baggett said. "I have helped a lot of people who are dealing with this and who did not know how to deal with it."