Staring at the laptop while waiting for a Teams call, my husband, Charles, and I were full of anxiety. It was September 17, 2020, and it was a video call in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic with a consultant to deliver the results of Charles’ recent medical tests.
![[Television Programme: Gavin & Stacey BBC1, 9pm. JOANNA PAGE AND MATHEW HORNE]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AY_33748210-7d19.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Sure enough, it started and the doctor began to talk, as I gripped my husband’s hand tightly. Then came the confirmation of our worst suspicions: ‘Mr Hine, your test results have come back and I am afraid you have Lewy Body Dementia.’. Our hearts sank. We didn’t know too much about dementia, but we knew enough. Lewy Body Dementia is the third most common form and can affect people in several ways, including great difficulty with movement, focusing and sleep, and can even cause delusions.
![[Kerry Hine: I'm the real-life Gavin and Stacey]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233851734-5861.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
I’ll never forget the look on Charles’ face after we got this news. We looked at each other and felt a strange mix of emotions – unbridled relief to finally have answers, fear at not knowing what to do next, and anxiety about what the future held.
![[Kerry Hine: I'm the real-life Gavin and Stacey]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233851729-ccdb-e1734707141870.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
When we got married almost 15 years earlier, we had made a vow to love each other in sickness and in health – and we intended to hold onto those vows now more than ever. I first met Charles in 2003, when we were at a summer school for musicians – and there was an instant connection. He was the perfect gentleman: kind, caring, with a razor-sharp wit and encyclopaedic mind to match.
