Mirella 71 years old woman.
She spent 43 years with the only person she ever loved. Those years were filled with shared experiences, challenges, laughter, and beautiful moments, building a family, a home, and cherished values.

In recent years, her days have become monotonous and cyclical due to her husband’s illness. Nevertheless, she continues to look forward with devotion, strength, and love. As long as there is life, there is hope, even though memories fade relentlessly day by day.

Mirella embodies the love story of a woman for her husband, now suddenly facing her greatest challenge alone. Her journey is one of hope and disbelief, pain and resignation, sorrow and powerlessness.

Currently, 35.6 million people worldwide live with dementia. This number is expected to nearly double every 20 years, reaching 65.7 million by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050. The most affected regions are China, India, and Latin America. Today, 58% of people with dementia live in low- and middle-income countries, with this figure expected to rise to 71% by 2050.

Dementia primarily affects older adults, though there is growing recognition of early-onset cases before age 65. After age 65, the likelihood of developing dementia roughly doubles every five years. The impact on those with dementia, their families, and friends is profound, affecting them on personal, emotional, financial, and social levels. A global lack of awareness persists. Understanding the societal costs of dementia and their impact on families, health, social care services, and governments is crucial to addressing this issue.

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Rome. Italy. Mirella sitting on her desk in the only corner of her house left of hers. The only place where Mirella can stay with herself for a while.

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Rome. Italy. Mirella takes care of her husband Luigi who suffers from Alzheimer’s after taking a shower.

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Rome. Italy. Mirella orders her husband Luigi’s clothes. Behind her is a photo of her with her daughter Monica.

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Rome. Italy. Mirella in the kitchen of her house during her breakfast of coffee and cigarette, watches television where they are broadcasting a soap opera.

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Rome. Italy. A bowl with fruit. After a few years of dementia, Luigi began to no longer understand how to use cutlery to eat, to the point where he no longer fed himself except thanks to a feeding tube.

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Rome. Italy. Mirella kisses Luigi goodnight. In the last years of his illness, Luigi became increasingly resistant to external stimuli.

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Rome. Italy. Family photo. Mirella and Luigi spent 42 years of their lives together and created a family with two children; a male and a female.

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Rome. Italy. Mirella while she helps Luigi put on a shirt.

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Rome. Italy. Luigi in his bed at home two days before his death. The bedroom had become a hospital room with drips and tubes in every corner.

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Rome. Italy. Two chandeliers in the dining room seen from the sofa where Luigi spent the last years of his life. Luigi, after 6 years of illness, died due to complications originating from Alzheimer’s.