Life, Loss & Love Lorraine's Memories Of Marty

Lorraine Downes Shares an Extract From Her Just Released Memoir
 

Her life has been a journey of incredible highs and devastating lows. This week, Lorraine Downes graciously lets us in so we can understand what it has been like to be in the driver’s seat of her extraordinary life.

Her memoir, Life, Loss, Love, has just been released. In it, Lorraine shares her recollections of everything from the heady days of her Miss Universe win as a bright young 19-year-old, to the tragic death of her soulmate, Martin Crowe.

In the following book extract, Lorraine shares a memory of the time in which Marty was helped by Mercy Hospice...

Our hospice team would visit as often as we wanted and I know that I couldn’t have cared for Marty at home without their support. I became very close to these three earth angels, who not only cared for my husband, but for me too. There were times when it was a huge relief to open the door and see their angelic faces.

Having 24-hour phone access to Mercy Hospice was also a lifeline – quite literally – because there were times when things happened that scared me. It was such a comfort knowing that help was at the other end of the phone, any time of the day or night.

One of the things I found scary was a drug called oxycodone, which Marty was put on for pain relief around June 2015. It was evil – it had a terrible effect on Marty’s demeanour, making him very dark. Even his eyes went dark in colour. He just wasn’t himself and it was a very challenging time for me as it made me feel disconnected from him.