DORAL, Fla. — Moving toward a mission — people laced up their shoes to raise awareness and money to fight Alzheimer’s disease. Every step had a purpose.

Hazel Petty first started walking in the Alzheimer’s Walk five years ago, after her husband of 37 years, Rayford, was diagnosed with the disease.

“I’m sure you thought about him the whole time, right?” she was asked.

“Yes. My husband went down because of my daughter. I lost my daughter in 2027, and it propelled him to where he is,” Petty said.

Her daughter, Chantel, was only 30 when she died of a heart attack in her sleep.

But Hazel refuses to let tragedy stop her.

She arrived Sunday morning at Miami International Mall with a bag of flowers from the Promise Garden — each one signifying something different. The yellow flower represents caregivers, a role Hazel knows well.

According to Alzheimer’s Association Director David Chaves Lopez, Miami-Dade County has the highest rate of Alzheimer’s prevalence in the United States.

“That’s why having these events is critical,” he said.

Hazel said her husband coached football for 45 years, including at several colleges and at Howard University, until 2017 — the year of his diagnosis.

“He now does not speak. He has not spoken our names in years,” she said. “So I walk to honor him.”

Every flower, Hazel says, carries meaning.

“It’s too late for him to benefit from the medical resources that have come aboard now,” she said. “But with the funding that can come together, they can catch it early on.”

The next walk is Nov. 15 at loanDepot Park.

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