Family and friends marvel at her resilience. They're so cheery about it. Perez, who met Norwood in 1984 while both were undergraduates at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said she would pray for the strength to keep going after her husband was diagnosed. But throughout his ailment, she's never left his side, and she keeps a smile on her face. I concentrated on making our life better, my pregnancy, and tried to make our life normal. . . .
Nobody says it's easy.
Judy Datria of Torrance knows firsthand how hard it is on a spouse. It's a horrible disease to see someone deteriorate daily and dwindle down to nothing. And you feel helpless. You can't help them in any way. Norwood hit his low point by mid-1999.