Down syndrome couple married for 24 years to be separated as husband may be moved to care home over worsening dementia
Tommy, 61, and Maryanne Pilling, 48—Britain's first Down's Syndrome couple—got married in 1995 and have been together ever since. However, they could soon separate from each other as Tommy, who was diagnosed with dementia five years ago, sometimes forgets his wife and pushes her away in the middle of the night, leaving her "hysterical."
"He's forgotten who Maryanne is a handful of times. It always happens really late at night. He pushes her away and says, 'I don't know who you are' and 'I don't love you'. Maryanne takes that to heart and is absolutely crushed and hysterical. She calls me up and I throw on my shoes and go across the road to try and calm them down. It's scary for Tommy too, but then he forgets anything has happened," Maryanne's sister Lindi Newman, 31, told the Daily Express.
Tommy's condition has gotten so bad that he is struggling with daily tasks like tying his shoelaces and taking a shower. If his mental capacity deteriorates any further, he would be placed in a care home—which could spell disaster for the couple who live together in an apartment filled with Elvis Presley memorabilia in Essex.
Despite his increasingly worsening health, the separation was the last thing on Tommy's mind. He told the outlet that he sang 'Love Me Tender' to his wife "every day" and never forgot to wear his wedding ring. "I married her, I did," he added, emotionally.
Maryanne also similarly said: "We just like spending time together. My wedding day was the best day of my life. I love my husband very much. He is my best friend."
She has been told by her sister that her husband was forgetting things "because his brain's a bit poorly and he's getting older."
However, if Tommy is put in residential care, Maryanne will no longer be able to live with him.
After meeting for the first time at a day center in Southend in 1990, Tommy and Maryanne instantly got smitten with each other. They dated for about 18 months before he proposed with a toy ring from a vending machine. The couple got married at St. Mary's Church in Shoeburyness in front of 250 guests.
The couple has set up their joint Facebook account to share their journey of love with pictures and videos, and it now has more than 60,000 followers.