By Spencer Sterritt

Community icon honoured in upcoming Alzheimer’s Walk

May 3, 2017 | 12:19 PM

NANAIMO — Taking part in the annual Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s will be an emotional experience for Kathy Torhjelm. The Sunday, May 7 walk at Bowen Park is honouring her husband Charles, who passed away only a few weeks ago at the end of March after more than 54 years of marriage.

He was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010 after a lifetime of helping his community. Torhjelm said her late husband was a people person and always saw the best in everyone, even after his difficult diagnosis.

“He kept that spirit of always wanting the best for everyone,” she told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Charles was the founding father of the Miner’s Heritage Picnic, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and was an active member of the South End Community Association. He was made a patron of the City of Nanaimo in 2013.

“He did amazing things for this community so it was really gratifying,” Torhjelm said of her husband being honoured by the walk this year. “Even though he didn’t ever know he’d been chosen for honouree…I feel very gratified and quite humble to think they would honour him like that.”

big return

Senior women's box lacrosse returns to Nanaimo after 10+ year absence

19m ago

environmental impacts

Accidental pump activation causes minor oil slick in Nanaimo marina

2h ago

invasive species

Crews destroy invasive species from pristine island off Nanoose Bay

3h ago

Roughly 70,000 people in B.C. suffer from dementia, according to the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia.

Support and education coordinator Jane Hope said it’s an issue more people will have to grapple with as the population gets older.

Hope said people should start keeping a closer eye on their friends and relatives when their forgetfulness extends beyond losing keys.

“If they look at their keys and forget what they were for, that’s more of a red flag,” Hope said. “Maybe all of a sudden they can’t figure out how to brush their teeth, or they’re not sure what a coffee cup is for. They might take their watch and put it in the freezer for some reason or other that doesn’t make sense to them or anyone else.”

Hope said living with dementia is exhausting for both the patient and the caregiver, since it leaves many without the ability to talk or control their emotions.

“Dementia can be a very scary journey, so people who are impacted by it often find themselves very afraid and get quite frustrated because they can’t do the things they want to do,” she said.

It’s a scary journey Kathy Torhjelm knows well.

She said caring for her husband was emotional but also a rewarding learning experience.

“The most important thing I learned was when people offer to help, they’re giving you a gift and you need to be gracious and say thank you. It’s all to easy to say ‘oh no, I’m okay.’ People ask if you need help and your first thing is to say we can do it all, we’re fine.”

She said friends would care for Charles while she spent time by herself or helping at the food bank.

“The most wonderful thing about it is they came back and told me as much as they gave a gift to me and Charles by taking him for a few hours, they were gifted because they enjoyed being with him so much.”

She’ll be at the walk with her four children and their grandchildren.

Registration for the walk starts at 10 a.m. in Bowen Park on Sunday, May 7.

spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit