A South Shields man has spoken of how his wife's dementia meant "our old life was gone", but thanked new nurses for "cutting through" and providing respite support when he badly needed it.
Richard Bainbridge, 80, has been married to Geraldine for almost 60 years. Heartbreakingly, three years ago Geraldine - well-known locally as chair of the South Shields Amateur Operatic Society - was diagnosed with dementia.
Since then, her condition has worsened, but Richard - a retired social worker - said the support from a new team of Admiral Nurses had helped them both cope. Speaking about his wife's illness, he said: "We knew something was wrong, but it took time to pluck up the courage to ask for a diagnosis. I was confident we could cope, but this proved not to be the case at all.
