Man with Alzheimer's falls in love with wife all over again
Peter and Lisa Marshall have a fairytale romance that Peter has unfortunately forgotten due to his early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis at the age of 53.
"It's heartbreaking," Lisa, 54, told CNN. "We've made new memories, but it hurts because I always want to say 'Remember that one time?' I want to reminisce with him, but Peter can't remember anything now, much less what happened 20 years ago."
The pair have been married for 12 years and initially met as neighbours in Pennsylvania.
"The way he loves me," she said. "He's so kind, so gentle, so flirty and fun and romantic. He's always been so passionate about our relationship. About me."
Lisa realised something was wrong with her husband after he kept forgetting his keys and wallet.
"It was my little secret to ignore until friends and family members started making comments, too, and then I knew it was something real," Lisa said. "People who hadn't seen Peter in a while immediately noticed something was wrong."
"I didn't understand until I started researching and realized this was going to have a profound impact on our lives, and it was going to take my husband," Lisa said.
Peter and Lisa were watching "New Girl" and a heartfelt wedding scene made Lisa cry. Peter noticed that and pointed to the screen, saying "Let's do it".
"I was like, 'do what?' And he said, 'Let's get married,' with a huge grin on his face," Lisa said.
"It's going to be a lot of work," he told her, not realizing that he had just proposed to his wife.
"It was so touching to me. He fell in love with me twice. I feel honoured. I feel like a princess, like Cinderella. I'm the luckiest girl in the world," Lisa said.
"I'm his favourite person," she said. "I don't need a label, like a wife, or nicknames he used to call me. Our hearts are connected in a way that all I need is for him to feel safe, and he does. And he loves me, and I love him, so that's all that matters."
Photo credits: CNN