I had a bit of a shock today. I was at the hospital waiting to get a routine blood test when we all heard someone crying out. The voice got closer and closer until a man came into view. He was being supported on either side by 2 other people but every one had their eyes on the man making the noise.
He looked thin, grey and hunched over. A mere shell of a person. I assumed he had some kind of special needs. Other people raised their eyebrows or laughed to each other. As they led him further up the corridor the crying out got quieter and quieter until they must have turned around and came back past.
This happened about four times. On the fourth time I leaned back to see the man, but this time I noticed the woman on one of his arms. It was my cousin! I haven't seen her in several years but I recognised her immediately.
It suddenly dawned on me that the man who was crying out, was her husband. I had heard he had Alzheimer's and was in a special unit at the hospital but nothing had prepared me for this. When I looked again I recognised his face, just. His cheeks were sunken, his eyes lifeless, his body limp.
My cousin is in her early 60s so her husband would be around a similar age. They married 45 years ago and I was honoured to have been one of their bridesmaids. To see how his life had so dramatically turned around was a very sobering sight. How could a man who had been so fit, active and... well, full of life, come to this?
I know none of us know how our lives will pan out. We can only live them to the fullest and make the most of what we have. I know for sure that on their wedding day 45 years ago, neither my cousin or her new husband would ever have imagined this.
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