Fiona Phillips’ husband Martin Frizell – who cares for his wife – has shared an update as the star, 64, continues her battle with Alzheimer’s.
The former breakfast TV presenter was diagnosed with the disease when she was 61. Now, Martin has shared his “anger” over the lack of treatment available for the degenerative disease.
And, during an appearance on Loose Women today (August 4), he’s also revealed that Fiona is in “a much better place than she was a few weeks ago”. Sadly, though, he added: “Not in terms of her Alzheimer’s.”
‘It is horrible’
Speaking to the panel today – anchor Jane Moore, Kelly Brook, Janet Street Porter and Brenda Edwards – Martin shared an update on his beloved wife, Fiona Phillips.
“The good news is there is some improvement in terms of her mood. Not in terms of her Alzheimer’s,” he said, “but in terms of just being able to get better sleep, having a better appetite, less confusion.” He then added: “And the anti-depressants she’s on now are helping to put her in a much better place than she was a few weeks ago.”
He then shared: “Fiona’s main problem is frustration. She’s someone who’s worked from the age of 11 and didn’t stop working till a couple of years ago when the Alzheimer’s made it difficult for her.
“So she’ll watch telly and get frustrated that she’s not working. She’ll get anxious and frightened worrying about it, you know the pressures of live TV, she did it for years. So seeing her now anxious about it is horrible,” he added.
‘It’s probably too late for Fiona’
Janet then asked Martin – who recently shared a video of Fiona – if he was “angry” about his wife’s diagnosis.
“Oh yeah. And it’s probably too late for Fiona now in terms of getting help or finding a cure. Or even getting care,” he said.
“The thinking with Alzheimer’s is that it’s more like care, not a medical problem. Once you reach a certain age, it’s like, oh you’ve had a good innings, just leave them be,” he said.
“She’s not bad enough?” Janet asked. “Exactly. The doctor said: ‘That’s it, it’s terminal, we’ve got a couple of drugs.’ The main drugs they give you is the drug her mother got 20 years ago. There’s been no movement since then,” he said.
‘Where’s the dignity?’
He then went on to share that there are 30 drugs to help with cancer and only two with Alzheimer’s.
“Where’s the dignity?” he asked, before sharing a poignant message from his wife: “She would say: ‘Don’t give up.'”
Read more: Fiona Phillips in ‘a lot of pain’ with secondary health condition
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