“My beautiful wife has dementia, please say ‘HELLO’ to her.”
Printed on a plain T-shirt being worn by an Australian man named Jim, this touching line has been creating waves across the world.
In 2020, Manly Beach resident—and wife of Jim—Maureen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. She was given only four months to live. However, she has beaten the unimaginable odds, and four years on, she is spreading happiness with her joyful personality.
‘One of the Best Shirts I’ve Ever Printed’
Whenever the couple spends time outdoors, Maureen can be seen waving at tourists and other people as they pass by. However, in the past, sometimes people didn’t reciprocate with as much enthusiasm, leaving Maureen disappointed. So Jim came up with the idea of printing a customized T-shirt with the words: “My wife has dementia, please say ‘HELLO’ to her.”To set the wheels in motion, he contacted Jasmin Stockwell, of CRE8withJAZ.
“He didn’t want to just order a T-shirt online,” Ms. Stockwell told The Epoch Times. “He wanted to come in and talk to someone and discuss his idea and make it special.”
At Ms. Stockwell’s studio, Jim worked with her team to come up with the text for the T-shirt, right on the spot. The simple phrase touched Ms. Stockwell and her staff. Seeing Jim wanting to do this for his wife, she said she was moved to tears.
“I remember Jim saying, ‘She’s still a real person,’” she said. ”I saw my nan and grandma go through [dementia] as well. We didn’t really speak about it ... it was a sad topic.”
However, knowing that Jim wanted to create awareness for himself and his wife in such a beautiful way, Ms. Stockwell and her team printed the shirt right away.
When it was complete, Ms. Stockwell ran down to the first floor of the shop and gave him the shirt, which he immediately put on with his wife by his side.
“It was just beautiful,” Ms. Stockwell said. “That’s probably one of the best shirts I’ve ever printed.”
A few weeks later, Jim came back with a request to modify the text—he wanted to add the word “beautiful” to the sentence.
The T-shirt now read: “My beautiful wife has dementia, please say ‘HELLO’ to her.”
‘A Snowball Effect’
A few weeks after its creation, Jim wore the T-shirt while walking on Shelly Beach with his wife. A passerby snapped a picture and submitted it to a local news outlet where it made headlines. It has since gone viral across the world.“It’s just still traveling around and touching people’s hearts,” Ms. Stockwell said.
Sharing their touching story on social media, a lot of people the world over have reached out to Ms. Stockwell to create a similar T-shirt for their near and dear ones suffering from dementia.
As Jim and Maureen’s story has spread far and wide, Ms. Stockwell described the phenomenon as a “snowball effect.”
One woman bought several shirts for her father and her sisters to wear because her mother has dementia.
“So many people reached out with their story,” Ms. Stockwell said. “And I think it touched a lot of people and made people able to talk about it and feel comfortable.
“I guess it all starts from Jim’s beautiful idea that this whole thing’s evolved. And I was just glad to be part of it and bring it to life for him.”
A Loving Relationship
This year, Jim and Maureen celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary.“He’s just making the most of every moment they have together,” Ms. Stockwell said.
Ms. Stockwell, who started her business 23 years ago, is honored to have been a part of the couple’s story. Printing and designing are her true passions.
Jim hopes she remembers when they first held hands at Freshwater beach, where he takes her often. Ms. Stockwell deeply admires the love that Jim holds for his wife.
Jim, although a bit overwhelmed by the attention, has been delighted to see the responses. Ms. Stockwell, together with Jim’s daughter, shares the latest online happenings regarding the story with him.
One thing is for certain—now, when Jim’s beautiful wife says hello, strangers won’t shy away from greeting her in return.
