One family’s journey through Alzheimer’s — together.
“A little bit crazy, a little bit loud and a whole lot of love” is how the Saltz family best describes themselves. Members of their Saltz family participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s for the first time on September 24, 2022. This date is significant in that not only was one of the granddaughters delivering her baby, it would have also been the 51st wedding anniversary of the family patriarch and matriarch, Bobby and his wife Lyn. Sadly, that symbolic day they were walking in memory of Lyn lost her battle with Alzheimer’s disease on October 17, 2020 at the age of 70.
“Lyn was in the hospital during COVID, so I couldn’t visit her,” shares Bobby a resident of Hendersonville, North Carolina. “We would talk on the phone about what was happening on the television.” The hospital ran a series of tests on Lyn – including PET scans- that confirmed she had Alzheimer’s. Her case was fast moving in that she had been hospitalized several months earlier due to a fall. Her advancement through the stages of the disease over the following several month interval was extreme.
In addition to developing mobility issues, Bobby noted that Lyn’s behavior had changed somewhat during the past year. He recalls preparing her a typical breakfast of a fried egg and toast. Lyn proceeded to jelly her toast, put her egg on top of the toast and cut it up before eating – something that she had never done before. Lyn’s interest in playing games on the computer had also waned. Bobby shared this news with Lyn’s physician who had asked him to keep a record of her behaviors that had become atypical. Prior to her final hospitalization, Lyn had also become more withdrawn from the family and challenged to communicate verbally. Her daughter Jennifer shared that she was thankful Lyn was able to tell her she loved her over the phone prior to her passing in the hospital. “Lyn didn’t want to be kept alive on any machines,” adds Bobby. “So the hospital did allow small groups of us to see her towards the end.” Bobby and Jennifer added they were grateful Lyn was able to meet her first great grandchild before her passing.
“Lyn loved her family — her kids and grandkids,” offered Bobby. “She also enjoyed working at the United Methodist Church Weekday Nursery for about 15 years,” added Jennifer. Lyn was diagnosed with breast cancer on their 25th wedding anniversary which led to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. While she won the battle over cancer, she did not return to the weekday nursery.
The Saltz family admits they didn’t know anything about Alzheimer’s prior to Lyn’s journey. They had heard about other friends and family experiencing it but certainly not from a first hand perspective. Jennifer adds that her mom’s symptoms were subtle and could have been developing for years — they just didn’t realize what was happening from the busyness of daily life.
A growing team
The family’s Walk team, Team for Lyn, has already raised 80 percent of their $2,000 goal for this year, and they attribute the success to several different avenues of fundraising over their involvement that last two years. “We all know Facebook can be a pain, but it can also be very wonderful for our Walk team’s fundraising,” says Jennifer. Bobby is involved with a rock painting group in which they paint rocks with messages and hide them around the county for various causes including Alzheimer’s, children’s cancer, etc. The family cross posts into that Facebook group which helps gain awareness. One of the Saltz son-in-laws works at a fire department and construction company — both of whom donate to their Walk team. Last year they held a fundraiser at a nearby brewery to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s as well as the walk itself. Their team is growing in numbers this year with neighbors, longtime friends and anyone else who they are able to recruit before Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Henderson County which is taking place on September 30 in downtown Hendersonville. The family does its best to involve the community businesses in the Walk by visiting each along Main Street.
Bobby appreciates the opportunity to share the knowledge about Alzheimer’s with other participants during the Walk, as well as helping other folks that are facing similar challenges that they did through Lyn’s journey. “I know many people feel like they are alone when dealing with Alzheimer’s and they are not,” says Bobby. “Our family is large and we kind of took care of each other. The Walk is essentially everyone’s family.” He adds that no one should ever feel like they need to face this disease alone. Just like they tackled life together before Alzheimer’s unceremoniously entered their family, they moved through it with “a little bit crazy, a little bit loud and a whole lot of love.”
LIKE BOBBY & THE SALTZ FAMILY, WE ALL HAVE A REASON TO FIGHT FOR A WORLD WITHOUT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. Join your local Walk to End Alzheimer’s today as an individual, team, or sponsor.
The Alzheimer’s Association hosts 17 walks across North Carolina. The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association® mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s.
| Alamance County | 9/30/2023 |
| Asheville | 10/14/2023 |
| Charlotte | 10/21/2023 |
| Fayetteville | 10/28/2023 |
| Gaston/Cleveland/Lincoln | 10/14/2023 |
| Guilford County | 10/7/2023 |
| Henderson County | 9/30/2023 |
| Iredell County | 9/23/2023 |
| Jacksonville | 10/14/2023 |
| Moore County | 9/30/2023 |
| Mount Airy | 9/9/2023 |
| New Bern | 10/21/2023 |
| Rowan-Cabarrus | 10/28/2023 |
| Unifour (formerly Hickory) | 10/28/2023 |
| Triangle (Raleigh-Durham) | 10/7/2023 |
| Wilmington | 11/4/2023 |
| Winston-Salem | 11/4/2023 |
Alzheimer's Association North Carolina Blog 