Tragic: Rebecca Doig, pictured with husband Scott on their wedding day, has Alzheimer's and does not recognise her newborn daughter
It was a moment which should have been filled with joy.
But when Rebecca Doig gave birth to her first child last week, she was tragically indifferent to her daughter and everything that was happening to her.
The new mother is just 31 but has a rare form of Alzheimer's which has advanced so rapidly since the beginning of her pregnancy, that she does not know she has a baby girl named Emily.
The Australian is thought to be one of the youngest sufferers of the disease in the world, the first woman to have this strain and the first to give birth at such an advanced stage in the disease.
Mrs Doig discovered she was pregnant while having scans to investigate her memory loss last summer.
After the full diagnosis, as the months of her pregnancy went by, her memory began to fail quickly - far quicker than the normal onset of Alzheimer's in the elderly.
Despite her loss of memory, Mrs Doig had a complication-free pregnancy and Emily was born by Caesarian procedure, weighing 6lb 3oz.
Mrs Doig's husband, Scott, describes his wife's condition as 'a great tragedy' and said their daughter is 'perfect'.
Mr Doig said of their daughter: 'She's a very beautiful little thing and very healthy.'
But he now bears the burden of a newborn and a once-vibrant wife who can no longer look after herself.
He described in heartbreaking detail the struggle they are now facing as his wife who was once the 'life of the party' has changed into a virtual stranger.
'She's like an 80-year-old going on five years old,' he said today.
'She went from being an independent, outgoing and bright young woman to someone who doesn't recognize her own new-born daughter,' Mr Doig said.
He said that his wife is tragically indifferent to Emily, cannot remember the birth and has not been able to hold the baby.
'The road ahead is going to be extremely difficult, there's no two ways about it,' said Mr Doig.
'We take every day as it comes because there's not a lot we can do about it. I have a wife and now a little girl to look after.'
It was hard, he admitted, to see Mrs Doig lose her independence and vitality.
But he added: 'She's my life and I'm not giving up on her.'
Mr Doig, who lives with his family in Sydney, said his wife now needs care 24/7.
He explained: 'Her frontal, perietal and temporal lobes have all shrunk. She's lost recent memory and emotions - inspiration, joy, happiness.
'She was such a friendly, happy, giving person when I met her. Now doctors say her life will be severely shortened.
'When we found out Rebecca was pregnant, all my common sense said "No, we can't have this child."
'She had a 50 per cent chance of the child being born with the same condition, but at 14 weeks we had the baby tested and I made the decision with her parents to go ahead.
'My goal is to find more home care for her, so she can see out her final days in comfortable and familiar surroundings.'
Mr Doig told the Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate: 'I'm quite selfish - I just want to be with my wife and for her to have the best few years of her life and not be shipped to a retirement home.'
Mrs Doig, who has not yet been able to cradle her baby, was diagnosed with a particularly rare form of the condition last August.
It advanced quickly from her not being able to find her keys and handbag and advanced to her losing jobs because of mistakes.
The strain results in the disease advanced very quickly and, apart from being the youngest known mother to have it, she is believed to be the first woman in the world to be afflicted by the strain of the disease.
The couple, who had planned to have children, are now struggling financially with a mortgage, growing needs for care and only one wage.
Mrs Doig has been refused a disability pension.
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