DENVER — More than 90,000 people in the state are living with Alzheimer’s disease today, and the number is projected to rise to 92,000 by 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado. Those affected by the disease, whether directly or indirectly, say that with those numbers comes great stigma about the condition.
Among those affected are the more than 177,000 Coloradans who are serving as unpaid caregivers, providing an estimated 307 million hours of support in 2023 valued at more than $7.2 billion.
“You never know what life is going to hand you, and I never imagined in a million years this would be our path,” said Ruth Fletcher, who, along with her husband Pat, shared the journey they’ve both been on with the disease while offering words of advice on how to tackle a stigma they said is very real…