One 83 year old man has taken to the skies to pull off a stunning paraglide in honour of his wife.
John Barratt’s 81 year old wife Margaret suffers from Alzheimer’s and is now in a nursing home, but her dedicated husband wanted to do something to raise money and awareness for those suffering from the disease.
John, who himself suffers from bowel cancer, decided to paraglide off the 1,969 metre-high Mt Babadag, when on holiday in Turkey with his family.
CavendishThe 83 year old, from Liverpool, claimed:
I was not a bit of afraid of doing it, even at my age.
I suppose it was just something I wanted to do and I was going to do it. The paraglide felt amazing.
I was so excited to do it and wasn’t afraid at all. I ran and ran right off that mountain and was gliding for half an hour.
We went up and viewed the mountain we had run off from above. It was a great experience and I would do it again.
I was getting high fives from everyone when I came down.
He spoke about his relationship with his wife and added:
My wife and I are the real life notebook.
I remember when I first met her. Her best friend asked if I wanted any sandwiches and I said ‘no thank you.’
And she said but Margaret made them and she said ‘are you going to have a sandwich?’ and I said ‘yes okay,’ and she was making me sandwiches for the next 61 years. I fell for her right away.
We have had such a good life together but Alzheimer’s has meant I became her carer and I have cared for her ever since.
I spend 8 hours every day with her in the home and always remind her of things we did and play music that she used to love.
Not only does Alzheimer’s change the life of the sufferer but it also changes the life of their partner.
It changes the companionship of marriage into the role of caregiver.
It’s a sad situation as we have been together for 61 years now and to end your life like this is a bit sad.
CavendishThe couple have four kids and ten grandkids, and the longest they’d ever spent apart at one time was two weeks, when he was away with the Territorial Army.
Then last year, his wife was admitted to a nursing home after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2006, and the couple are often compared to The Notebook because of their love for each other.
John claimed their current situation is ‘heart-breaking’ and it’s hard to disagree.
You can visit John’s fundraising page here.
