The defeated game of Scrabble

"He never complained, he just suffered in silence while the rest of his world kept moving... unable to talk and barely walking without assistance. Parkinson's is so different from person to person, I don't think they will ever find a cure... it's too adaptable."

John Cains born on the 19th of December 1948 suffered from Parkinson's for 13 years but was only diagnosed in 2015. Married to Patricia Cains for 40 years the pair lived out their days surrounded by a loving family, cruising the seas and beating their grandson in scrabble. John was an intelligent man who knew how to make his family laugh and find the positive in any situation, Pat believes that this disease took what little ego he had left.

"I would never have said John had a big ego, however, when his Parkinson's became noticeable I think that's when we truly lost him. He was a proud and intelligent man but couldn't bring himself to admit that he needed help."

John’s doctor, Dr Stephen Lewis truly believed that his Parkinson’s would inevitably take him, however, who would ever predict a world pandemic? For John and Pat, COVID lockdowns not only put John at higher risk of infection but also took away their ability to see family. John eventually got infected with a serve case of pneumonia and passed away at Shellharbour hospital on the 26th of March 2022. If it wasn’t for his Parkinson’s, he would've survived but his immune system was unable to fight both infections at the same time.

Pat continues to work with Parkinson’s patients, living John's legacy on and continuing to surround herself with family. Treasurer of the Illawarra Parkinson’s group, she continues to donate and fund events in the hopes that the lives of these people will continue on as they should have. Despite losing the love of her life, Pat remains hopeful and can still find the positive in her life.

“That hospital failed my John, they could've done so much more. I felt like they never tried to get to know him and his case, all Parkinson’s cases are unique and different and they didn’t even try to cater for his needs. I will never get over that man… he gave me everything and not many wives can say that. There would be no divorce if they ever did.”