Page 15 - Who Are You-Reflections of a Dementia Survivor

The Life

Bit by bit

Daddy and mummy met at a high school dance. “What
do you do with dead pythons?” daddy asked mummy as
they had their first dance. Mummy must have been very
impressed, for she was to be daddy’s soulmate from that
night. High school sweethearts with mummy only fifteen
and daddy seventeen years old. They married as teenag-
ers; their love story yet to end.

Mummy and daddy had very little when they married, but
mummy was always supportive of daddy as he studied
and travelled for his work while they gradually made a
loving home for their three daughters. Later in life mum-
my started working in services to the community. She
was a very caring lady and everyone she met, loved her
for her kindness, generosity and unconditional friendship.

When mummy got her breast cancer it was such a shock,
but after an operation and two years of treatment, all was
well, except mummy then began showing the signs of her
dementia. It was now daddy’s turn to support my mum-
my as they faced this new challenge together.

I was adopted by mummy and daddy about two years
after mummy had been diagnosed with the awful demen-
tia. I was to be her little pal and we would both sit next to
daddy, me on mummy’s lap, while daddy worked. We
would all walk and play and we were very happy. Even
though mummy was forgetting things, I could see that
mummy and daddy were still very much in love.