Chuck and Michele Liebrock have never shied away from a challenge. In their 52 years together since they first fell in “Lust at first sight” at a dinner party, they’ve supported each other through raising three children, changing careers – including Chuck’s time playing professional football with the CFL – as well as weathering injuries and losses.

Now, they’re learning to navigate life after a dementia diagnosis.

Chuck never worried about the disease, even when his memory began to falter around 10 years ago. “I was getting older and I thought it was normal to remember less,” Chuck says. “But then I started losing my ability to multitask, which I always took so much pride in. That was when I first started to get concerned.”

Around the same time, Michele noticed her easygoing husband was becoming increasingly anxious and paranoid. Fortunately, they’ve always been able to communicate and after talking about what they’d noticed, they made an appointment with their family doctor, who referred Chuck for further testing.

“At first, we kept things very quiet – we didn’t even want to tell our kids,” Michele says. “But the diagnosis put a name to what and how we could move together as a family and they were, and continue to be, incredibly supportive. Personally, I think they saw it coming.”

Michele and Chuck had been referred to the Alzheimer Society of B.C. and in addition to participating in education workshops, they began attending support groups for people in the early stages of the disease and for caregivers.

“It was then that we realized we weren’t alone,” Michele says.

Slowly, the couple started to speak more openly about their experience. For Chuck, talking about his diagnosis included examining his decade-long CFL career.

“My bell has been rung a number of times,” Chuck says. “Many of my teammates have been diagnosed with dementia. If there’s anything I can do to help future generations, I want to do it.”

Chuck participated in research related to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive, degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts or concussions that’s also associated with the development of dementia. Since there’s no way to diagnose CTE without an autopsy, Chuck has chosen to donate his brain to the research program.

“Getting a dementia diagnosis is frightening – but you can’t get support if you don’t talk about it,” Michele says. “It’s why the Walk is so important. It provides an opportunity for communities to support people affected by the disease. It’s a way of saying, ‘I’m doing this for you and you’re doing this for me.’”

Lots has changed since the diagnosis and the pair have had to let go of some of their retirement dreams. Chuck loved to ski, hike and hunt and they used to spend long days in the garden together. Still, they’ve found ways to adapt. Chuck lifts weights at the gym three or four days a week and “coaches” Michele in the garden, taking pleasure in telling her where things should go. Michele has been surprised to find joy in learning how to do some of the tasks that used to be reserved for her husband.

“It can be lonely. We have changed, our relationship has changed, but it has also brought us closer together,” Michele says.

“I know that if you continue to try, there’s an opportunity for success,” Chuck says. “If you quit, you’re finished. I won’t quit.”

“I won’t let you quit,” Michele says.