In what can be described as a happy ending, after all, a US man with Alzheimer’s, who forgot that he was married, fell in love with his wife and married her all over again, reported CNN. Peter (56), who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago, married Lisa (54), his wife of 12 years, at a ceremony on April 26, this year.
Peter and Lisa first met as neighbours in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. At that time, they both were married and had children. They quickly became friends and remained in close contact until Peter’s family moved to Connecticut.
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Out of touch for a month, the two reconnected after they learned that both were undergoing divorces. They became inseparable after meeting just once in Harrisburg. What followed was an eight-year, long-distance relationship, until their children entered college.
The two tied the knot in 2009.
She realises something was not right
But almost a decade after getting married, Lisa started to notice that something was wrong. Peter first started forgetting his keys, then wallet, then words and what they met and later he found it difficult to make sentences.
Lisa, meanwhile, thought that it was due to age.
But quickly, Peter forgot the moments the couple spent together, before forgetting his marriage altogether.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in April 2018.
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When Peter first forgot about his wife
It happened when the couple was on a trip to Rhode Island. While returning, Peter was giving directions to Lisa, when he suddenly started saying things like, “‘This is the way to my home”, “Turn right to get to my house,” Lisa told the news agency.
When they reached home, Peter “ran out to my side and opened my door for me, and walked me into our house and was so nervous showing me around,” Lisa said.
“It was adorable, but I kept waiting for him to snap back into reality, but he never did,” she added.
He falls in love with her, again
On December 12, 2020, the couple was watching a TV show, when Lisa started crying watching a wedding scene. Peter laughed initially but swiftly looked at the TV screen and said, “Let’s do it.”
“Do what,” Lisa quipped, to which Peter replied, “Let’s get married.”
Describing the moment, she said, “It was so touching to me. He fell in love with me twice. I feel honored. I feel like a princess, like Cinderella. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
It was their children who encouraged them to renew their wedding vows.
And on April 26, they remarried.
Although Lisa knew that Peter could forget the wedding, or who she was during the wedding, she was thrilled with the feeling that she was “his favourite person.”
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“I don’t need a label, like a wife, or nicknames he used to call me,” Lisa said.
“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,” she added.
