An 89-year-old Panama City Beach woman living with Alzheimer’s disease continues to inspire residents and staff at The Blake as she prepares to participate in the community’s third annual Alzheimer’s fundraising walk.
Despite her diagnosis, Jodie Rhea remains active, social and positive and continues to enjoy shopping trips, mini-golf, billiards, slot machines and maybe a little bowling.
Carolyn Stewart, director of activities at the senior living community, described Rhea as a source of encouragement who refuses to let the disease define her.
“She embraces it and she doesn’t let it stop her from living life,” Stewart said during a News Herald roundtable with Rhea and her daughter, Cindy Horne, from Texas.
Horne said her mom spent a decade caring for her dad, Jimmy, as he battled Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia before her parents moved to The Blake in 2021, where they made new friends and renewed their sense of independence.
“We were so grateful for this place,” Horne said as she looked at her mom. “She gets to finally live it up (and) just be.”
Married in 1958, Jimmy died on Aug. 15, 2024.
The Blake’s upcoming Alzheimer’s walk on Sunday, June 21, at 2 p.m. aims to include residents who may not be able to participate in the larger walk in nearby Miramar Beach on Nov. 7.
The Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the Alzheimer’s reports an estimated one in eight seniors age 65 and older lives with the disease.
Anyone wishing to participate or make a donation to The Blake’s efforts on June 21 can contact Carolyn Stewart at 850-446-8177. Donations will be routed to the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Stewart said.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Alzheimer’s won’t slow Jodie Rhea’s walk through life
Reporting by Tyler Orsburn, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tyler Orsburn, Panama City News Herald | USA TODAY Network
