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At 55, Marion Norman found herself dumped in an old people’s home in Malta… She made a secret excape & back in Britain she regained her independence and, unexpectedly, found love …

Marion has been in a wheelchair for the last 10 years. After her husband, who’d been a violent alcoholic, died, she found herself alone, in Malta. Her mother refused to look after her daughter, insisting that Marion be cared for in a home. This was traumatic for a person as independent as Marion - a teacher and a campaigner for people with disabilities. "For me it was purgatory," says Marion, "I cried because once I knew I was in there, the door was closed and I didn’t know how I was going to get out. I felt suicidal. It was like being shut in a prison."

Marion was in the home for 15 months. She eventually managed to regain her freedom by escaping, in secret, back to Britain. "I left the home, carrying one small suitcase - I didn’t know Newcastle, or anyone here, but it couldn’t be worse than Malta . It was worth a try. As I got off the plane a porter said, 'Hello love! Where’ve you been? You look very brown!' I thought, 'Thank God! I’m home!' You can’t imagine what it was like to escape."

Marion first met Paul, who is also in a wheelchair, at the theatre. They got talking, and began to meet frequently - their friendship deepened and Paul realised he was in love with Marion. "We have entirely different personalities," says Marion, "he’s shy and I’m not. We’re both in wheelchairs and we both know each other’s problems - that is most important. He is my eyes and my ears - without him for instance, I can’t hear the doorbell. Out disabilities work well because we do nearly everything together and we’re perfectly happy.

Paul proposed to Marion two minutes after the millennium - via the text his electronic organiser. "My eyesight so bad I had to ask what he’d written. He said "will you marry me?" I was gobsmacked!"

"It’s unusual for two disabled people to fall in love," comments Marion, "If you’re not living in an independent situation as I am, if you live in a residential home, they think it’s peculiar that two people should kiss or show affection towards one another. I don’t understand why we should be different just because we’re disabled. It makes life more complicated, but it’s a perfectly normal reaction for anyone to fall in love."

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