Coventry carer Rhonna Daly wants anxiety-free Christmas

Christmas had become an anxious time, said Rhonna who cares for husband Ges

A woman whose husband has a rare form of early onset dementia is hoping they can make the best of Christmas.

Rhonna Daly, from Coventry, cares for Ges, who has primary progressive aphasia.

Christmas had become an anxious time since his diagnosis in 2018, she said, as his behaviour changed.

She told BBC CWR she fears being embarrassed by his actions, but had learnt not to worry what other people may think.

"If he sneezes, he doesn't cover his mouth, or putting lots of food in, so his cheeks are full of food."

The former engineer was always "pleasant" and "ultra-polite" before developing dementia, she said.

'Severe anxiety'

She recalled how the family first started noticing a change in personality.

"He was a lot more withdrawn from family activities, and then the next year had a really bad bout of severe anxiety, but still bless him carried on going into work," she said.

Ms Daly convinced him to see someone after he started "getting his words mixed up" and "he would say I know what I want to say, but I can't get all of the words out".

She said the hardest thing was getting used to the "blank straight face", because her husband always used to have a "lovely smile and sparkly eyes" that have now "disappeared."

She said she was determined not to compare this festive season to those before her husband's diagnosis, and was trying to stay calm.

"We are going to go with the flow, and try not to be too upset if something doesn't work," she explained.

Ms Daly plans to "hopefully enjoy the day" when it comes to Christmas.

"This year I've sort of got a more positive head on then I have for the last few, so it's a big learning curve," she added.