Peter Marshall, 56, was unaware that the woman watching television with him, Lisa, 52, was his current wife when he suggested they should get married.
As he suffers from early-onset Alzheimer's, diagnosed in 2018, he
also had no recollection of his 12-
year
marriage
, only that he had fallen in love with Lisa, who he believed to be his "favorite person."
"'Let's do it,' he said, and I asked 'do what?'
and then he pointed to the television that was broadcasting a wedding and I said to him: do you want to get married ?,
and he said yes, with a big smile
”, according to an interview that Lisa gave to the local station NBC4 in New York.
Peter fell madly in love again with his wife who claims to feel the luckiest woman in the world to remarry the love of his life, with the partner he chose for the rest of his days.
[FDA approves first Alzheimer's drug amid doubts about its effectiveness in slowing mental decline]
As Peter's memory deteriorated, Lisa asked her daughter Sarah Brehant, who is a professional wedding and event coordinator, to help her make the arrangements.
Upon learning of the affair,
all the service providers decided to donate their time and not charge a penny
;
from the photographer, the florist, the pastry shop, the balloon shop and the owner of the place where the wedding took place, among others.
The couple renewed their wedding vows last April in Connecticut, surrounded by family and close friends in a ceremony made official by Adrianne DeVivo, a specialist in dementia.
Lisa and Peter Marshall during the wedding vow renewal ceremony on April 26, 2021. All vendors donated their time and did not charge a penny (@brehant_Creations, @ mill1atopensquare, @its_so_ranunculus, @earthandsunco_, @transcendentmakeup, @refinedrentalsllc, @ forgoodnesscakesdesserts, @pencilandinkdesign, @ pinkflamingoparty.co, @Jeffladd, @snassycrafter, @petalsplates, @alliedearie, @katherinedonovanphoto, @ohhelloalzheimers, Adrienne Devivo) Courtesy @Danbrehantphotography
"[Peter] came up to me and sighed in my ear: thank you for staying," said Lisa, who has dedicated herself to documenting her life with an Alzheimer's patient on social media.
The two, now divorced, met in 2001 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Connecticut.
Peter worked in a finance company while Lisa was in radio advertising.
The first signs of Alzheimer's appeared in late 2017, when Peter found it difficult to describe certain directions, such as the way to get to his own house, or when
he couldn't find the right words to describe certain objects such
as “that thing that flies in the sky ”instead of“ airplane ”.
The following year, in 2018, the neurologist carried out several tests and determined that it was a case of premature or early-onset Alzheimer's, which affects people between 30 and 60 years old, which is equivalent to 10% of all people who suffer that disease.
[Supreme Court backs Obamacare for the third time in the face of harassment from Republicans]
"We had set ourselves a goal of retiring in 10 years, but Peter's diagnosis came when we were both at the peak of our professional careers and he had to stop working and I had to stop working to take care of him," says Lisa on Facebook.
It has been several weeks since
Peter and Lisa reaffirmed their betrothal, an episode that he may never remember again, but that Lisa will never forget
.
"Our hearts are connected," says Lisa.
With information from The Washington Post and NBC4
