Slow Puncture: Living Well With Dementia

Peter Berry, Deb Bunt

This is an account of a year in the life of Peter Berry, an ordinary man living in a sleepy Suffolk village. Happily married and running a successful business, Peter’s life changes when, at the age of fifty, he is given a terminal diagnosis of early-onset dementia.

Olwyn Sgwâr
Dyma gofnod o flwyddyn ym mywyd Peter Berry, dyn cyffredin sy’n byw mewn pentref cysglyd yn Suffolk. Yn hapus yn briod ac yn rhedeg busnes llwyddiannus, mae bywyd Peter yn newid pan, yn hanner cant oed, caiff ddiagnosis terfynol o ddementia cynnar.

Ers y diwrnod hwnnw, mae wedi dysgu byw gyda’i anghenfil dementia ei hun. O iselder ac ymgeisio i’w ladd ei hun hyd at ei benderfyniad i wynebu ei ddementia, mae Peter wedi dechrau ar gyfres o heriau i ddangos nad yw bywyd ar ben gyda dementia, ond ei fod ychydig yn wahanol. Mae Peter bellach wedi codi miloedd o bunnoedd ar gyfer elusennau dementia, gan seiclo cannoedd o filltiroedd yn ei ymgais i ddangos bod bywyd bob amser yn werth ei fyw.

Pan fydd Peter yn cyfarfod â Deb, sydd newydd ymddeol, maent yn cychwyn ar deithiau beicio rheolaidd ac, wrth i’w cyfeillgarwch dyfu, gall Deb edrych ar ei bywyd ei hun trwy lens dementia Peter. Yn Olwyn Sgwâr, mae Peter yn dweud wrth y byd sut beth yw byw gyda chyflwr terfynol ac mae Deb yn dysgu mwynhau bob dydd yn llawnach. Gyda rhagair gan yr awdur poblogaidd Wendy Mitchell, awdur Wyneb Cyfarwydd, dyma olwg ysbrydoledig ar fyw yn y presennol ac ymdopi â dementia.

Peter Berry
Peter was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s aged 50 which meant he had to give up his thriving timber business. With a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years, Peter made it his mission to live well with the condition and to help others to do the same. Now ten years into his diagnosis, Peter continues to live well. He has raised money for, and awareness of, the condition in younger people through his various cycling challenges, including a 250-cycle tour on his penny farthing bike. Peter has a collection of vintage bicycles and, when he’s not delivering talks or presentations, he spends his time cycling around the Suffolk countryside. Peter is married to Teresa, and they have an adult daughter.

Deb Bunt
Deb retired to Suffolk from London 6 years ago, having worked in the social care sector for many years. After befriending Peter, Deb realised that his story needed to be told and was the material she needed to fulfil her ambition to be a published writer. She and Peter have cycled thousands of miles together. When she is not cycling, Deb and Peter deliver talks to organisations and conferences on living well with dementia. Both are well known in the Suffolk area and are regular guests on BBC Radio Suffolk. Despite living in Suffolk, Deb still can’t shake off her love of Arsenal Football Club! Deb is married to Martin and has two sons and three grandchildren, with grandchild number four primed to make an appearance soon.