LAWTON — Former NFL Running Back Dewell Brewer and his cousin, Bad Boy Gym and Fitness owner Grady Brewer, will join forces for the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Elmer Thomas Park in Lawton.
The event is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. at Lake Helen pavilion. The walk starts at 10 a.m. Those wishing to participate in the walk may register at www.alz.org.
During the event, Hearts That Care will have volunteers on hand to check vitals; Edward Jones Investments Financial Advisor Jessica Crow and veteran-owned Verdejo Events will provide information about each organizations’ services.
A family affair
Dewell Brewer, a record-setting student athlete at Lawton High School and the University of Oklahoma, was injured while playing for the Carolina Panthers in 1995. After being injured, he returned to Lawton to teach special education and coach football and track for his alma mater. He and his wife founded Our House MHSA Inc. — a mental health and substance abuse outpatient program with locations in Lawton, Davis and Duncan.
“Throughout the mental health community, there’s a lot of people who deal with this disease,” Dewell said. “Meeting my biological father, who was dealing with diabetes at the time, (he) also had Alzheimer’s. I got to spend about a year with him before he passed.”
That year had a profound effect on Dewell.
Bad Boy Gym and Fitness owner Grady Brewer made a name for himself by competing in the Oklahoma Golden Gloves tournament and Toughman Contest. Grady appeared on the ESPN reality show “The Contender” in 2006, winning the contest in its second season. Grady, a middleweight/light middleweight contender, has won 32 of his 52 career bouts, wining 16 by knockout. Like his cousin, Grady wants to bring awareness to the struggles faced by those who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease
“We’re very supportive of the Alzheimer’s Association,” Grady said. “People who’ve come to the gym have been really pumped up about the walk.”
Grady said Bad Boy Gym and Fitness members will be joining him and his cousin for the walk.
Sara Paape, Walk Coordinator and educator for the Alzheimer’s Association, said the NFL recently partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association to give players the opportunity to talk about the disease.
Seeing a family member battle the disease for more than a decade, the Alzheimer’s Association holds a special place in Paape’s heart. Already close, Paape said her relationship with her grandfather strengthened as his condition worsened.
“Grandpa and I never had a problem getting along,” she said. “We played games and took care of each other. He took care of me when I was little, I took care of him then. Grandpa passed in March of 2015.”
The Alzheimer’s Association helped Paape navigate the grieving process. She volunteered to teach classes and became a community educator in June 2018. Paape said the Alzheimer’s Association got her through the grief and anger of losing a family member and gave her a purpose to fight the disease.
“We need to understand that that person is still alive in there,” she said. “We need to treat them like people — like family members — and include them in conversations and allow them to be a part of life, because somewhere deep inside, they’re still aware of that.”
Currently there are more than 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, according to an Alzheimer’s Association news release. It is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and more than 11 million friends and family members provide care to those afflicted with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Across the state, 67,000 Oklahomans live with the disease, relying on more than 129,000 unpaid caregivers, statistics show.