Prue Leith has shared a reassuring health update after hospital tests ruled out a stroke following problems with her speech and vision.
The former Bake Off judge, 86, appeared smiling in the sunshine with a dessert as she told followers she had recovered. Her hospital health scare happened during a holiday in Yorkshire a couple of months ago.
Writing on Instagram on Friday, Prue said: “For those that have messaged me, I wrote a piece of @theoldiemagazine about my trip to hospital a couple of months ago.
“I was fine shortly after and I am very much alive and kicking now!”
Prue Leith’s hospital scan ruled out a stroke
Prue was allowed to leave Harrogate Hospital in the early hours of the morning after a CT scan confirmed that she had not suffered a stroke.
She explained in her Prue’s News column for The Oldie that the emergency began when a migraine affected half of her vision and caused flickering coloured lights. Although those symptoms were familiar to her, concern grew when she could no longer speak clearly.
Her husband, John Playfair, contacted her doctor, who guided them through several checks associated with possible stroke symptoms. Prue could still raise her arm and clench her fist, while there was no facial drooping. However, the doctor advised calling an ambulance to be safe because of her difficulty speaking.
Paramedics took her to hospital, where A&E staff assessed her and arranged the scan. Her speech returned during the visit.
Reflecting on the decision to investigate the symptoms, Prue wrote in The Oldie: “I knew all along that all I had was a migraine. But since the speech problem is a classic symptom of a stroke, and my extreme old age being a time when mini-strokes are common, everyone was determined to be safe not sorry.”
Prue’s history of migraines
The broadcaster has experienced migraines since childhood and recalled one particularly difficult attack when she was nine.
Her speech went “bananas” during that episode, she said. While trying to explain that she felt sick, Prue mistakenly said: “I want fish.”
That history meant the visual effects during her recent attack were not new to her. However, the later speech problem prompted those around her to seek urgent medical help and ensure that a stroke could be ruled out.
Prue Leith praises NHS staff after A&E visit
Prue also used her account of the hospital visit to praise the NHS workers who looked after her. She described the medics as “cheerful, sympathetic, polite, helpful and professional”.
She said that although patients could face a long wait, staff made her feel as though she was the only person in A&E once she was receiving treatment.
Prue also praised the nurse who took her blood, describing her as “bright as a daisy” despite being 10 hours into a shift while covering for an absent colleague.
Her Instagram message has now offered further reassurance, making clear that she recovered shortly after the hospital visit and is doing well.
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