The Tenth Life

2026

Graeme Weatherall    1959 – 2025

He was my brother and my best friend. He was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in his early twenties and told that he had a cruelly degenerative disease that would certainly end his life prematurely.

At first the effects were slight. When he fell people wrongly thought that he was drunk. It was a huge blow when he was told that he was no longer fit to drive. He said it felt like having his legs cut off – a cruel irony as it was not long before he lost the use of them and was confined to a wheelchair. His employers were understanding but eventually were obliged to end his banking career. His marriage failed as his wife could not cope with his condition and he lost touch with his two children

As his health continued to deteriorate he showed enormous courage and resilience. He guided his carer to get out of debt and start her own business. She was his companion on a series of working “tall ships” journeys and they later travelled to New York, Dubai and on safari in Africa. These memories helped him in the later years when he was confined to bed His health continued to deteriorate. He was hospitalised twice with Covid 19 and a collapsed lung. He faced all this with a fierce determination and a strong but realistic acknowledgement of his ever decreasing capacity. He never complained or felt sorry for himself.  “It is what it is” was his mantra each time his situation worsened.

His mind stayed particularly active even as his body progressively failed. He was scared that eventually it would completely shut down and that he would end up “locked in”. On more than one occasion he confided in me that he was ready to go, but somehow his uncontrollable will kept him alive On the night that he died I was heartbroken. But I knew that he had been released and I was grateful for that. I am profoundly proud of the man that he was, of the fierce fight that he showed and the love that he gave