The upcoming return of the Walk for Alzheimer’s honours a Penticton woman and caregiver.
After a two-year hiatus, the largest fundraiser event for the Alzheimer Society of B.C. returns to the South Okanagan on May 29.
This year, the event is dedicated to Barbie Bird, who moved back to Penticton to help care for her mother Pauline, including the transition into Village by the Station.
“I’m home but my mom can’t come home,” said Barbie, from the rec room of the house she grew up in. “The dementia progressed, then COVID hit and it made everything so much harder.”
Visits to her old house were a cause for confusion for Pauline, and the pair found a better venue for their visits: Barbie’s 1987 VW Cabriolet convertible, complete with a playlist of Pauline’s favourite hits from the past, heavy on the Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
“She sings every lyric and we belt it out and laugh and talk,” Barbie said. “She’s free – because it’s only about the present. It’s just us ripping around town and playing Frank.”
With a long family history in the Okanagan, Pauline passed away on March 18, listening to Frank Sinatra and surrounded by her daughters.
Sponsored by IG Wealth Management, the walk kicks off at the Rotary Centennial Pavilion in Skaha Lake Park at 2 p.m.
Registration for the walk starts at 1 p.m. and registration can be done ahead of time online at alzbc.org/walk.
READ ALSO: Penticton couple honoured at last in-person Walk in 2019
According to the Alzheimer Society of B.C., two-thirds of British Columbians have personally known someone living with dementia. The fundraiser allows the society to continue to provide crucial programs and services to British Columbians affected by dementia and to support dementia research.
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