Bill Carl Johnson

“ My wonderful husband of 12 years, Bill, told me that he wanted to marry me. Bill has been living with dementia for 9 years. For the past year or so Bill has been unaware of our relationship, and no longer knows my name. So when Bill told me that he, ‘ Really likes me and wanted to be with me forever’ - I was really touched. Bill doesn’t use many words now and finds it hard to express himself, but I got lots of hugs and kisses as I accepted his ‘proposal’. It was so lovely. What I wasn’t prepared for was that he’d remember the next day. He wanted to know when we were getting married. This was Thursday, and as I was having my friends round on Saturday, I suggested that was a good day. My daughter Andrea said I needed a dress. Really? ‘Of course’ she said. ‘How else can it be a wedding?’ So I got a dress that afternoon, expecting to return it unworn. But Bill was still remembering on Friday, so together we bought a cake. My cousin Lynne gave me flowers fro my hair, and Eva planned and prepared renewal of vows with a special bit from Bill, so he felt that we were getting married. The next day, with stunning weather all day and my wonderful family around me, Bill and I got ‘married’ again. It was the most wonderful day... Thank you if you’ve made it to the end. Please take from this that you can never assume that just because someone has dementia with all the difficulties that presents, that they can’t still surprise you in the most unlikely ways..” 💜💜