Planckaerts son-in-law Christopher Timmermans (38) about his mother’s Alzheimer’s: “I admire how she deals with it”

Planckaerts son-in-law Christopher Timmermans (38) talks about his mother’s Alzheimer’s for the first time. “I admire the way she deals with her illness.”

Two years ago, Lynn, Christopher’s mother, was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. “But the fact that we can talk about it with each other has a healing effect on everyone,” says the Planckaerts son-in-law in a double interview in Dag Allemaal. “We want to make it clear that life is not over when you have Alzheimer’s.” They both emphasize that it is sometimes difficult. “If I can no longer do something or can’t find something,” says mother Lynn, who worked in geriatrics for years. “When I was told that I was ill, it was very painful. I’ve worked with people with dementia for years and I never thought I would get it myself. I know what Alzheimer’s is, so that diagnosis hits me even harder.”

Lynn’s disease is not hereditary, so Christopher doesn’t have to worry about it. “If I were a carrier, I could be a kind of guinea pig to have the disease investigated,” he says. “It turned out not to be hereditary, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get it. It keeps us grounded and I admire the way mom deals with her illness. She tries to enjoy herself as much as possible.”