class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>
Martin Ogg still remembers exactly what happened on May 15, 1994 in Wankdorf in Bern: “We had many chances to score a goal. But the ball wouldn’t go in. We held our ground as underdogs for an hour, but in the end the score was 0-4. That was a bit difficult.”
Martin Ogg was on the field in the cup final against GC and was head of defense for the then NLB competition team FC Schaffhausen. At the age of 26, he was at the peak of his football career: “I had a very strong season.”
He ended his career in 2004. He left the field a hero, as Schaffhausen’s record player. He has donned the FCS jersey nearly 400 times. He remained loyal to the club for 27 years, joining as a junior, later reaching the cup final twice and leading the team to promotion to the Super League in his final season as cautious captain. “A fun time. Football was my life.”
Long-term memory works fine, but Ogg, now 55, no longer remembers everything. His mind plays bad tricks on him. In a café in the old town of Schaffhausen he talks about the night before. «My girlfriend and I were at home, I wanted to make us something to drink and suddenly the glasses disappeared. I just didn’t see her anymore. It wasn’t a nice evening.”
In January 2023, Ogg was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 54. At first he didn’t realize what that meant, or he didn’t want to admit it. In any case, it took a while before he could accept the verdict, which sounded to him like a death sentence. “I still find it difficult to accept it today,” says the former top athlete. Yet he would like to talk about it, also publicly.
As a non-affected person you will receive a photo of someone with dementia. You think you can assess the situation, you assume, because you’ve seen movies like “Honey in the Head,” “Still Alice,” or “Don’t Forget Me.” Or you have read about the fate of people like Rudi Assauer, the legendary former manager of Schalke, or René Weller, the boxer who was defeated by dementia on August 22, 2023. But Martin Ogg wants to tell his own story and counter possible prejudices: “I am here. I exist. And I want to live and plan for the future.”
He first noticed something was wrong during an online insurance course when he couldn’t find the next button that should have opened the next page. He asked his boss what was wrong, and he looked at him askance. After that it happened more and more often that he could no longer get his thoughts in order. Had unexplained pauses. He once cried during a video call. There was no clear reason for this. His employer sent him to a psychologist, he was eventually diagnosed with burnout and Ogg was sent to therapy.
He is now 100 percent disabled, is no longer allowed to drive a car and is dependent on full IV support. The days are sometimes long. He would like to exercise like he used to: get on his bike and ride through the woods. But he lacks the energy and it would also be too dangerous. Still, he wants to stay positive, sets goals and has just booked three weeks in Thailand on a business class flight. «I still wanted to make this dream come true. Now is the right time for it.” His girlfriend is flying with him. That’s how it’s planned.
The two met in the summer of 2023. “Hi, I’m Martin Ogg and I have Alzheimer’s disease,” he introduced himself to her. So she knew what was going on from the first sentence. Yet there was a spark, the two have been a couple ever since and live together in a neighborhood in Schaffhausen that is located between the cantonal hospital and the Berformance Arena, the stadium of FC Schaffhausen, where Ogg once worked as a stadium manager after his career. , but never played himself because The FCS played in the small but nice Breite Stadium when Ogg was active.
Gabriela Beutler is an informal caregiver, has experience in elderly care and also guides people with dementia. So she knows exactly what to expect. And yet everything is different now. “When you love someone, are close to them, live with them and have to watch them get worse and more dependent on help, it hurts incredibly much.”
What worries her most is time. How much of that is left for shared happiness? “We don’t avoid the subject of death, we talk about it, even though it is difficult and deeply sad.” She is often asked why she does this, why she entered into this relationship, but the answer is quite simple. «Martin will always be Martin, a person I love. However it will change and what comes next.
Gabriela Beutler notices how her loved one has more and more problems, even with simple things. She then explains everything to him in detail, often several times, and writes things down on pieces of paper that help him if he has trouble finding his way or remembering things. There are better days, there are worse days, and there are really bad days where nothing works, where at home he sometimes asks where he is.
The Kafi in the old town slowly fills up, people come from work, Martin Ogg suddenly falls silent and looks at two women standing at the entrance. They pay him no attention, but he still feels harassed. “Those two over there,” he says, “they are shaking their heads, they are terribly angry that we are sitting here and occupying the seats.” Every now and then he has pauses, sensory illusions, moments when the cognitive connection to reality fades. Or he wanders off, forgets the subject, after which his gaze becomes empty and wide, the tension in his body decreases.
Martin Ogg has a 26-year-old daughter. He would like to have more contact with her, especially now. But his illness is getting in the way, he suspects. There are also former colleagues who no longer contact us because they are probably overwhelmed by the subject. “But overall I did a good job of informing everyone who was important to me in the spring after the initial shock. Most responded well.”
In August, a friend invited him to England to watch a Premier League match. He liked it and would like to do it again. Watching football gives him support and is familiar to him. Recently he even played along again – chatting with friends in the audience. His teammates were excited about how well it all worked. “We played great together,” says one. “He may have been replaced more often than before, but he was fully present.”
Ogg doesn’t want to think too much about the future, “preferring to enjoy the moment”, capturing the moments before he loses them, getting lost before the nerve cells in the brain increasingly lose their shape and functions and eventually gradually disintegrate.
He feels good after this conversation, he says, before he takes the bus to his room. Everything is still possible, he can travel alone, he knows the direction, recognizes people he knows, can make plans and talk about them. There is an interesting market in Asia that promotes humane care for people with dementia at an affordable price. A business model that has been able to develop due to the shortage of nurses in Europe. There are also healthcare resorts run by Swiss.
Martin Ogg and his partner have already collected information about it and want to take a closer look at it during their trip to Thailand in the spring. Because Gabriela Beutler knows what goes on in the local houses. “There are not enough staff, everyone is always stressed.” In Thailand or Cambodia, one-on-one care would be possible 24 hours a day. “We just have to explore this possibility,” says the 54-year-old. “Martin deserves this. He must receive the best possible care for the years he has left and be able to live in an environment with dignity.”
Martin Ogg smiles as he reveals a secret at parting: the two are planning the wedding. It makes him a little nervous, he laughs, but it also feels damn good: “Almost like then, this Sunday in Bern, in the dressing room for the cup final.”
|
team
|
SP
|
T.D
|
PT
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
 FC Sion
|
18
|
17
|
37
|
|
|
2
|
 FC Thun
|
18
|
16
|
37
|
|
|
3
|
 FC Stade Nyonnais
|
18
|
4
|
24
|
|
|
4
|
 Neuchâtel Xamax FCS
|
18
|
5
|
23
|
|
|
5
|
 FC Wil
|
17
|
0
|
23
|
|
|
6
|
 AC Bellinzona
|
18
|
-8th
|
23
|
|
|
7
|
 FC Aarau
|
17
|
-3
|
20
|
|
|
8th
|
 FC Vaduz
|
18
|
3
|
18
|
|
|
9
|
 FC Baden
|
17
|
-22
|
16
|
|
|
10
|
 FC Schaffhausen
|
17
|
-12
|
14
|
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
