Following her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Fiona Phillips will shoot a special ITV documentary.
The 62-year-old broadcaster revealed earlier this month that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year after experiencing months of brain fog, anxiety, and forgetfulness, and she has now revealed that she will begin filming a film about dealing with the realities of Alzheimer’s later this year.
The presenter and writer claimed the disease had ‘devastated’ her family and had now ‘came for’ her when she confirmed her ‘heartbreaking’ diagnosis, having already lost both of her parents to Alzheimer’s.
She’s now disclosed a new project she’ll be working on following her participation in a revolutionary medicine study.
She said: ‘I want to go out and I want to work. I’ve just got to get on with it.
‘I mean, what’s the alternative, to lie down and give up?’
Fiona also told the Daily Mirror of the ‘incredible kindness’ she’s received, saying: ‘People have been so kind to me.
‘I was anxious people would be staring or whispering about me or would just write me off as a batty old woman. But there has been incredible kindness.’
Fiona first revealed she was suffering from Alzheimer’s earlier this month, telling the publication: ‘All over the country there are people of all different ages whose lives are being affected by it – it’s heartbreaking.
‘I just hope I can help find a cure which might make things better for others in the future.’
Fiona’s mother Amy was diagnosed with dementia in her 50s and died in 2006 at the age of 74, while her father Neville developed the condition in his 60s and died in 2012.
Martin Frizell, 64, the former GMTV presenter’s husband, reportedly stated that she isn’t as ‘vibrant and interested in things’ as she used to be following her illness.
He said: ‘My only frustration is just I want her to get better.
‘I want her to remember things. I want the apathy to go and I want this person back who was vibrant and interested in things and eager to do new things.
‘But she’s not there at the moment.’
She replied: ‘Really? I hadn’t noticed I was being like that.’
He added: ‘But you wouldn’t, because you are in the middle of it.’
What is early-onset Alzheimer’s disease?
Early-onset Alzheimer’s is also known as young-onset dementia or younger-onset Alzheimer’s. It is the label given to anyone who receives a diagnosis before they turn 65.
According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, an estimated 70,800 people with dementia in the UK have young onset, and Alzheimer’s disease accounts for around one in three cases of young onset dementia.
It is thought at least five in every 100 people with Alzheimer’s are under 65, however the figure may be higher.
According to the NHS, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s can begin with usually minor memory problems, but can develop into:
- confusion, disorientation and getting lost in familiar places
- difficulty planning or making decisions
- problems with speech and language
- problems moving around without assistance or performing self-care tasks
- personality changes, such as becoming aggressive, demanding and suspicious of others
- hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there) and delusions (believing things that are untrue)
- low mood or anxiety
Source My Celebrity Life.