I recently talked to Robin Thomson who has written ‘Living with Alzheimer’s – a Love Story’. In it he tells us how he and his wife, Shoko, tackled her dementia. This is a remarkable book – notable for its searing honesty and my discussions with Robin showed me even more about the reality of living with someone that you love deeply and watching that person slowly unravel as the disease progresses. He shows us how Alzheimer’s robs us of the person we love just when we need them the most – just when life presents unexpected twists and turns and challenges that we don’t know how to deal with.
He talks of how to get help, how to feel the power of love and how to see that somewhere and somehow, Shoko was the same person that she always was.
But he does so much more; he talked to me about his Christian faith and where God was and is in this daily struggle. He also talked to me about that great taboo – sex and the older person – with searing honesty he told me how it was for him and his beloved wife.
Robin also talked about Shoko’s death and how that affected him – his emotions around the loss of his soul mate and the relief of the end of her suffering.
Watch out for our weekly articles and blogs ‘All about Alzheimer’s’ – a guide for us all, inspired by Robin and Shoko’s journey.