Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease that slowly rots the brain. If you’ve had a family member who is one of the more than 5.7 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, you’ve experienced first hand how this devastating disease sadly transforms your loved ones into complete strangers to the point they don’t even recognize you. One man has a very unique way of dealing of the despair and frustration of his wife’s brain being ravaged by Alzheimer’s — he moved his girlfriend into the home with him and his wife.
Barbara Elaine Smith, best known as B. Smith, was a model in the 1970s, a restauranteur in the 1980s, an author in the 1990s, and had her own line of products in the 2000s. In 1992, Smith married her business partner Clarence “Dan” Gasby. Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2013 and her memory has slowly been eroding ever since.
Since B. Smith was diagnosed with the chronic neurodegenerative disease, Gasby has been her primary caretaker. Smith’s mind has steadily deteriorated over the recent years to the point where she needs help with everyday simple tasks such as blowing her nose. At some point during the period of Smith’s battle with Alzheimer’s, Dan Gasby started dating Alex Lerner.
The 63-year-old Gasby and the 53-year-old Lerner got very serious to the point that she became his mistress. As Smith’s memory declined severely and Gasby decided to move his girlfriend into the home that he shares with his 69-year-old wife. Gasby went public with the unique living arrangement in December by announcing his relationship with Lerner in a Facebook photo of the couple out to dinner captioned with the 50 Cent lyric: “Hate it or love it. You can debate, but for me, I’m feelin’ great.”
Gasby has doubled down on his decision to move his mistress into his wife’s home this week when he opened up his special lifestyle to the Washington Post.
Since the Washington Post profile, Gasby has been inundated with condemnation and even death threats. “I mean, we’ve had death threats,” Gasby said. “I mean, we’ve had people just do all kind of crazy things. They’ve never been to our restaurants. We don’t know them. They make all kind of racial innuendos.”
Gasby has responded to his detractors by saying:
“To the idiots and ignorant people calling for my arrest and saying B is or has ever been abused I only wish someone in your immediate family has Alzheimer’s so you can see feel and experience the pain of millions of people across this country so you can know first hand what it’s like to care 24/7/365 for someone who can no longer care for themselves! 5-10 years from now when many of you who will have an almost predestined meeting with Alzheimer’s because of genetics, obesity, and a myriad of inflammatory diseases. You’ll be wishing for someone to share moments with and ease the pain of loneliness and despair. I love my wife but I can’t let her take away my life!”
Gasby and Lerner appeared on The Dr. Oz Show on Tuesday to defend their relationship and living arrangement.
“All the ones that know B are extremely supportive extremely supportive, have no problems with it,” said Gasby. “The people because she’s a celebrity, a personality quote, unquote, they weigh in, and what they do is they attach what they feel B would. They attach their feelings as ‘Well, B doesn’t know. She wouldn’t want this.’ Well, if B knew, I wouldn’t be with Alex because she wouldn’t have Alzheimer’s.”
Alzheimer’s disease gradually causes the victims to lose their memory, normal functioning reasoning, and even bodily functions. Once diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, those suffering from the debilitating disease usually only have a life expectancy of three to nine years. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. If you’d like to donate towards Alzheimer’s disease research you can do so HERE.
[FoxNews]