Alzheimers is an extremely tough disease that can afflict the ones we love, and in a perfect world, this terrible illness would not be part of it.
Michael and Linda Joyce live in Frankton, New Zealand. They’ve been married for 38 years. But one day, all of a sudden, Michael had a lot of trouble remembering things. And soon after that, he couldn’t remember Linda being his wife. But even though he had some fog on his memories, he knew he loved Linda.
So he woke Linda up in the middle of the night and asked her if she would marry him. She said, “Of course I will.”
And she was really surprised the next morning when Michael asked, “So when are we doing this?” He actually remembered. Linda was just ecstatic that he did. And even though the two had been married many years ago, Linda thought it would be a real good time to renew their vows. So she got on her community website, told her story about Michael and herself, and asked who might be willing to remarry them.
A portion of her letter said: Amidst the often sad and frustrating times living with Alzheimer’s.. there is joy! My adored Hubby of 38 years suffers from Alzheimer’s/Disphasia. Two nights ago, out of the blue, with tear filled eyes he asked me to marry him! Michael had clearly forgotten we were already married but I absolutely went along with him and said I would be delighted to be his wife. In spite of his confused mind, he obviously knows and feels this is something he really wants to do, therefore, a small group of our closest friends are meeting at Hamilton lake this Saturday 20th at 1pm to renew our Wedding vows. To Michael it will be our Wedding Ceremony and to our friends and myself, a truly precious and memorable occasion.
Linda got several offers from those willing to officiate it free of charge, and a local photographer (Desmond Downs) volunteered to shoot the wedding, also free of charge.
So the date was set, and when that big day came, Michael woke up and said, “Today’s the day.” Again, he didn’t forget.
Their vows were repeated outside with a handful of friends cheering them on afterwards. It was a good day. One well worth remembering.
