Fiona Phillips’ husband Martin Frizell has opened up about his heartbreaking Alzheimer’s diagnosis and described how he is ‘grieving’ for his wife as she is ‘not there anymore’
ITV star Fiona Phillips’ husband has opened up on her fight with Alzheimer’s after she was diagnosed at the age of just 61.
Her husband, Martin Frizell, now speaks about her as if she’s already gone, and admitted that she’s “not there” anymore.
Initially attributing her symptoms of brain fog and heightened anxiety to menopause, the former GMTV star was informed by doctors that it was a far more serious condition.
In a heart-wrenching interview with The Telegraph, her spouse Martin admitted he is grappling with everyday life, such as what to do with Fiona’s unread cookery books or her designer clothes. The ex-presenter hasn’t cooked for two years and has lost interest in her stylish wardrobe, opting instead to “wear the same T-shirt, the same trousers […] day in, day out.”
Promoting their new book, Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer’s, Martin confessed that Fiona is “not in the best place”.
He shared with the publication his daily struggle with grief, saying: “It’s like someone has passed because bit by bit, she’s not there. One bit will come back and then another bit will go. It’s really tough,” reports the Express.
Martin now looks after Fiona at home. He revealed that while she still has moments of clarity, her condition has sadly worsened significantly over the past year, requiring assistance even for brushing her teeth.
A drug trial managed to stabilise her condition for a year, with Martin administering injections into Fiona’s stomach three times a day, but after 12 months, it stopped being effective.
Fiona has also experienced “psychotic episodes”, where she believed her husband had kidnapped her while in a state of delirium. He revealed on ITV’s This Morning: “She’s got a kind of secondary problem that causes her to be in pain, a lot of pain, which adds to the confusion.
“In the book, there’s a picture of her at the end of our road, picking the most recent picture I took, only a few weeks ago, and she’s looking great, and she’s kind of smiling, and she’s got a coat on and what you don’t know is, she thought I’d kidnapped her.
“She does recognise me most of the times. Doesn’t quite know that I’m her husband, but she knows who I am. On these occasions, and it’s not frequent, but every now and then, she’ll want to go home to her parents. I haven’t got the heart to say they aren’t here.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
