After more than a year since Robin William’s tragic death, the late actor’s wife, Susan Schneider Williams is ready to open up about the details surrounding her husband’s death. In an exclusive interview with ABC news, Susan surprises the public with the fact that Robin’s depression was only one symptom of a much bigger underlying condition.
Married on October 22nd, 2011, Susan describes her marriage with Robin as a very happy and fulfilling one. “It’s the best love I’ve ever dreamed of… a love would be based on just honor, love, respect,” she says.
Susan vulnerably shares the moments she realized she had lost Robin. “Call me when he’s up”, Susan recalls telling her assistant after leaving their home in the morning. “And then she sent me a text and said ‘He’s not up yet, what should I do?’, and I said ‘Wake him!’ and then she called me back…. that twenty-minute car ride- I just screamed the whole way.”
While Robin William’s death came as a complete shock to Susan, she says they had actually been going through a harrowing medical journey for some time. “We were living a nightmare,” she says.
The Real Cause of Robin Williams’ Death
In November 2013, Robin began to experience gut pain. But then, with each passing month, new symptoms began to pop up. “It was like an endless parade of symptoms”, Susan describes. She even confesses to wondering whether Robin was a hypochondriac at the time.
In May 2014, Robin was diagnosed with early stages of Parkinson’s disease. “My best friend was sinking…He was keeping it together as best as he could, but the last month he was not. It was like the dam broke.” She said throughout his medical journey, it never crossed her mind that Robin might be suicidal. However, Robin’s autopsy actually revealed that he was suffering from Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder that affects 1.4 million Americans
Named after Friederich H. Lewy, who discovered abnormal protein deposits that depleted dopamine levels while conducting research of Parkinson’s, Lewy Body dementia affects both cognition and physical health; it can lead to problems with blood pressure, bladder control, temperature regulation. People with Lewy body dementia can undergo dramatic changes in behavior and emotion, suffer from hallucinations, sleep problems, memory failure, and trouble with perception.
Susan Schneider Williams: Watch Interview
Since first opening up about Robin’s condition, Susan has penned a medical essay which was published in the medical journal Neurology. In it, she shares more details about the time leading up to Robin’s death. The essay includes emotional details of their lives:
“Robin was losing his mind and he was aware of it. Can you imagine the pain he felt as he experienced himself disintegrating? And not from something he would ever know the name of or understand? Neither he nor anyone could stop it—no amount of intelligence or love could hold it back.” (3)
She hopes sharing the story of Robin’s symptoms leading up to his death will help encourage further research into Lewy body dementia (LBD) so doctors can better diagnose and treat others suffering from it.
Robin states, “Hopefully from this sharing of our experience you will be inspired to turn Robin’s suffering into something meaningful through your work and wisdom. It is my belief that when healing comes out of Robin’s experience, he will not have battled and died in vain. ”