This Morning presenter Sian Welby has shared a sad update concerning her dad’s battle with dementia.
Sian, who has filled in as co-host on the ITV daytime series, has revealed her 84-year-old father cannot remember her daughter’s name.
Baby Ruby arrived into the world in June 2024, sharing her with partner Jake. However, it seems her stricken dad is not aware of what his granddaughter is called – even though he apparently knows she exists.
Sian Welby ‘very close’ to her dad
Speaking to pop legend Lulu on her podcast, radio host Sian addressed how she copes with her dad’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
She has previously emotionally opened up about how her father Ian lost his ‘independence and identity’ due to the condition.
Sian revealed on This Morning in February of last year: “It does creep on you. He would go the shed and forget why he went. And it gets worse and sometimes he forgets completely why he is there.”
She added: “He at one point lost his role as dad because we were doing everything. He couldn’t drive, couldn’t make dinner or do the shopping or fix the car or do anything he normally did.”
And in her latest update, the 37 year old said her dad is currently in a stable condition, although his memory does appear to be fading.
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This Morning co-host Sian Welby on her dad’s dementia
Sian reflected: “I’m very close to my dad. He’s very funny, he is very sharp, so it’s scary to think I was gonna lose that because it’s him, you know?
“That’s what’s so cruel about it, that you won’t wish on anyone. You’re going to lose the person.
“They’re physically going to be there, but gradually, bit by bit, you’re losing them. That was just horrible to imagine.”
‘He’s having good days and bad days’
Sian also considers it fortunate that her dad is relatively stable. Previously in 2022, however, Ian fought cancer and Covid at the same time.
A diagnosis of sepsis and pneumonia in both lungs followed, and his weight also dropped to six and a half stone amid fears he may die.
She went on to Lulu: “I’m very lucky, and I will say it out loud, I’m lucky that my dad seems to have reached a very stable stage where he’s not particularly getting worse.
Dad doesn’t know my baby’s name.
“He’s having good days and bad days, but he still knows who I am.
“My dad knows I have a baby. He doesn’t know her name – that doesn’t bother me – but he always remembers that I’ve got a baby.”
This Morning airs on ITV1 and ITVX on weekdays from 10am.
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