by Matt Hill » Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:51 pm
Here's the interview with Hugh. Article is (C) Carers UK from the August 2006 issue of our membership magazine 'Caring'. You can read the latest issue of Caring and find out about becoming a Carers UK member at
http://www.carersuk.org/Aboutus/Joinus
[quote]
Voyage of discovery
Carers UK member Hugh Marriot knows all about caring, both on land and at sea.
He’s also written a book, ‘The Selfish Pig’s Guide to Caring’.
When the symptoms of Huntingdon’s Disease began to appear in
their lives, Hugh and Cathie Marriott knew the disease would be
life changing. Their remarkable response to Cathie having an
incurable and disabling disease was to be life changing itself. They
sold their house, bought a sailing boat, and embarked on what
was to become a nine-year voyage of discovery. By the time
Cathie could no longer safely clamber on board their boat, they
had visited 40 countries and sailed around the world.
Symptoms
Hugh and Cathie met when they were living in London, Hugh a
journalist and Cathie a researcher for the Consumer Association.
In their early days together they shared a dream of buying a boat
and sailing to the Mediterranean, but over the years life got in the
way – marriage and bringing up three children.
Over time, Hugh noticed that Cathie was developing
symptoms such as slurred speech and involuntary movements.
“Cathie’s doctors were saying they thought she had
Huntingdon’s, but we never knew for sure as there were no tests
back then so they couldn’t prove it.â€Â