In Ireland, a man decided to offer his mother suffering from Alzheimer’s a wonderful gift: a trip around the world.
Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately 37 million people worldwide, including Mary O’Niel, an Irishwoman. She passed away in 2019 at the age of 83. Before dying, her son gave her a wonderful gift: a road trip in the sun.
Sean O’Sallaigh was very close to his mother. When the latter was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013, he decided to take care of her. He left Rome, where he lived, to settle in Dublin in the family home.
Three years later, Mary’s condition deteriorated and her relatives decided to place her in a specialized retirement home. This decision upset Sean: «I couldn’t leave her alone at that time ,» he told Metro.
Faced with this situation, he decided to take her to spend the winter in… Nepal! This stay illuminated the daily life of his mother: “We walked by the lake and watched the children play. They would come and sit with us in cafes and talk to him all the time”.
After Nepal, Sean and Mary spent the summer of 2018 in the Italian capital, Rome. This trip allowed Mary to meet a lot of people : “Everyone she met in Italy talked to her and wanted to give her a kiss, she loved it”. Unsurprisingly, Sean was very caring with his mother.
In October, they made a long stay in South Africa. Alas, Mary was getting sicker and sicker. Therefore, her son hired a nurse.
«In January we took mum to the beach and she enjoyed putting her toes in the sand and watching the kids play.»
A few months later, Mary was unable to move. She died on May 24 from a lung infection:
“ In the end, she sometimes called me daddy. When she died, I felt like I had lost my little girl (…) I had to put my life on hold to take care of her but it brought me so much, ”said Sean to the British daily.
To devote himself entirely to his mother, Sean took a break from his career. The latter has been running a travel agency since 2004. Despite his sacrifice, he has no regrets: “People thought she would be a burden, but she never was (…) When I put her to bed at night, she would sometimes say ‘you are good’ or ‘I love you’ and that was enough for me”.