Where are my eyeglasses?
When I read the Washington Post ’s story — Man with Alzheimer’s, forgot he was married to his wife. So he proposed, and they wed again: ‘There wasn’t a dry eye.’ by Cathy Free, I instantly recalled one of my favorite movies, “50 First Dates” with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
The real-life story of Lisa and Peter Marshall left me crying, as this is a love story that starts all over every day due to Peter’s early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Whenever I look for my eyeglasses, the most classic episode is when I find out as soon as I ask that it’s on top of my head.
I forget things at 51, and sometimes I think, will it worsen as I get older?
50 First Dates
In the movie, Henry, played by Adam Sandler, meets Lucy, played by Drew Barrymore; not knowing, he would fall in love with a woman who has Anterograde amnesia — a loss of the ability to create new memories after the event that caused amnesia.
What does one do for love? In the movie, it means having to go on “50 first dates” and falling in love all over again, each day.
The movie is loosely based on another real-life couple — The woman wakes up thinking it’s 1994 every morning and then forgets everything the next day due to a car crash injury.
As for Lisa and Peter Marshall, they have to marry again as if it was their first time, when the truth is Peter who at 56 has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease — a form of dementia that generally afflicts people in their 30s to 60s and makes up about 10 percent of Alzheimer’s cases overall. — Excerpt, Man with Alzheimer’s forgot he was married to his wife. He proposed, and they wed again: ‘There wasn’t a dry eye.’
Lisa and Peter Marshall at their wedding in April 2021.
It all started as Peter and Lisa were watching TV, there was a wedding scene, and Peter looked at Lisa and proposed for the “first time.”
The truth is they have been married since 2009, and when they got married in April, they have been a couple for over twenty years.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease
It was in 2017 when Peter started to “forget” like he would “that thing that flies in the sky” instead of saying, “airplane,” it will take another year before Peter will be diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Most of us think Alzheimer’s disease comes late in our lives, but people as young as their 30s can start developing the disease.
June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month — You can learn more about early onset Alzheimer’s disease here.
It’s Okay
As I was reading Lisa and Peter’s love story. I can’t help but think of Nightbirde.
If you haven’t come across her story, she is the singer who auditioned for America’s Got Talent and shared to the world not only her voice, her song, but also her words, which have become the words I live by each day that, It’s Okay.
Nightbirde’s romantic love story has a different ending than Peter’s. After being diagnosed with cancer, her husband left her.
But despite everything that is happening to Nightbirde, who is Jane Marczewski, in real life, she can inspire millions of people around the world, and I count myself as one of them, especially after hearing her say;
If you’re lost, we’re all a little lost, and it’s alright.
You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy — Nightbirde.
Love happens
Love happens, I always tell myself.
We can choose to love unconditionally, and the greatest love of all happens when we love ourselves, and when that happens, one can love someone beyond what is called for.
For Lisa and Peter, love not only happens, but it happens every day, and while Peter may soon lose all of his memories of Lisa, his spirit will always recognize his love for her.
As Lisa herself said in the interview:
She remembers what her husband told her on difficult days as they danced to their favorite song, “Brown-Eyed Girl,” after they renewed their wedding vows.
“He whispered in my ear, ‘Thank you for staying.’ ”
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Previously Published on medium
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