UNCONDITIONAL
After a board game revealed all, Rhonna Daly, 67, from Coventry, knows that Christmas will never be the same for her family again…
Having a giggle with wrapping paper strewn on the floor, it was another typical Xmas.
Despite me and my husband Ges, 67, not really huge Christmas fans, it was still a great way to interact with the family.
And with our boys Neil, now 37, and Simon, now 34, plus Neil’s partner Lorna, gathered around for lunch, presents and board games, it meant it was a chance for us all to get a little competitive.
Something that Iknew Ges would love – he’d always be so much better at games than me.
Only, on 25 December 2020, as we set up one of the board games at Neil’s house, needing pencils to draw certain pictures, Ges didn’t have a clue what was going on.
Needing to explain the rules over and over, I got a blank stare in response – it was like trying to tell a three-year-old what to do.
And it was in that moment, while gathered at the table, we all realised the extent of Ges’ decline.
Leaving that afternoon to travel back to ours, Neil burst into tears – as living away from home, he hadn’t seen what had been happening behind closed doors.
Ges, the loving, hands-on, busy, smiley man who I’d been married to for just shy of 40 years, was gone –his diagnosis taking hold quicker than any of us could have imagined.
Meeting at a friend’s engagement party back when we were just 22, I noticed from the getgo that Ges had a really lovely smile and the most sparkly eyes.
After nightclubbing, going on a variety of walks, as well as having a shared interest for Coventry City football, after a month or so, we were official.
And as the saying goes, the rest was history.
‘The body is designed to move, not to sit around,’ Ges would joke – keeping himself busy at all times.
Working as an engineer, making gears for Formula 1 cars, it was a very technical job – and coming home, Ges would remain hands-on.
Akeen gardener and a fantastic carpenter, he’d have a huge list of DIY tasks that he had set himself.
‘I’ll never get to the end of the list,’ he’d say, as I’d keep him busy. A huge help around the house, whenever Icame home from work, dinner would be made, dirty dishes all cleaned up, with the boys bathed and tucked up in bed – Ges was a real homebody.
Something that continued over the years – even after Neil had flown the nest.
Only, in 2019, a few things made me question if Ges was actually OK.
If I was ever worried about anything, letting Ges know about something sad that had happened to a close friend, he would always
show concern – talking through it all with me.
However,
