Latest news with #RememberWhen
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- South Wales Guardian
Fiona Phillips' husband: Alzheimer's made her think I'd kidnapped her
The Kent-born journalist, 64, announced in 2023 that she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, after initially thinking she was having menopause symptoms when she first started experiencing 'brain fog and anxiety'. She has since written a memoir titled Remember When, with the help of her husband, former This Morning editor Martin Frizell, which aims to help others who have been diagnosed with the disease. Her husband offered an update on Phillips' condition on Friday, recounting that at times she does not remember that he is her husband. Speaking on ITV's This Morning, Mr Frizell said: 'She'd love to be here, but she's got anxiety. 'She's got a kind of a secondary problem that causes her to be in pain, a lot, a lot of pain, which adds to the confusion. So it's difficult. '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.' He explained that the condition causes 'all sort of delusions', adding that Phillips would get 'kind of worked up'. Mr Frizell added: '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. 'What you do is, you say, 'Let's get our coats on, let's get our shoes on', we go up around the block a couple of times and come back in. And she says, 'Oh, I'm home now'.' Alzheimer's is described as the most common cause of dementia, which is the name for a group of symptoms associated with an ongoing decline of brain function, according to the NHS website. It is a 'progressive condition' that can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities, with symptoms developing gradually over many years and which often become more severe. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease but there are medicines available that can temporarily improve some symptoms. Speaking about the condition, Mr Frizell said: 'Society has decided we're not going to take it as seriously as we should. 'The money that's there for Alzheimer's research, it's like buying a Starbucks cup of coffee, basically trying to fight a disease. It's impossible.' He also said the pair had conversations early on about Phillips giving him lasting power of attorney to ensure that if she cannot make health or financial decisions for herself then he can on her behalf. Despite this Mr Frizell said he has been accused by some banks or utility groups of trying to 'win one over on' Phillips. He said: 'There's two types. There's health and finance, but it gives me control of those things. If she's not able to make decisions for herself, then I have power of attorney to do it on her behalf. 'Pretty much everyone, banks, utilities, should accept that – most of them do. There's one or two, I'm not going to name them, who actually are accusing me of well, actually, maybe you're trying to sort of win one over on. This needs a bit more evidence. I'm thinking, what evidence do you need? But by and large, LPA (lasting power of attorney) is a must for folks. Once you get to your 50s, you should definitely get it.' Mr Frizell announced in November that he was stepping down as the editor of This Morning, after a decade in the post, saying he was expecting 'family priorities to change' and needed to free up time for them. He oversaw the long-running morning show as it won numerous awards, including a Bafta and seven National Television Awards. Phillips is best known for presenting GMTV from 1993 to 2008, before going on to head up a number of documentaries and episodes of Panorama. She quit TV in 2018 after she started to suffer from anxiety and was also one of the Mirror's longest-serving columnists. Phillips cared for her parents after both of them were also diagnosed with the condition and has made two documentaries about the disease, one in 2009 called Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's And Me, about her family's history of dementia, and My Family And Alzheimer's in 2010. She has also served as an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society.
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Health
- Leader Live
Fiona Phillips' husband: Alzheimer's made her think I'd kidnapped her
The Kent-born journalist, 64, announced in 2023 that she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, after initially thinking she was having menopause symptoms when she first started experiencing 'brain fog and anxiety'. She has since written a memoir titled Remember When, with the help of her husband, former This Morning editor Martin Frizell, which aims to help others who have been diagnosed with the disease. Her husband offered an update on Phillips' condition on Friday, recounting that at times she does not remember that he is her husband. Speaking on ITV's This Morning, Mr Frizell said: 'She'd love to be here, but she's got anxiety. 'She's got a kind of a secondary problem that causes her to be in pain, a lot, a lot of pain, which adds to the confusion. So it's difficult. '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.' He explained that the condition causes 'all sort of delusions', adding that Phillips would get 'kind of worked up'. Mr Frizell added: '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. 'What you do is, you say, 'Let's get our coats on, let's get our shoes on', we go up around the block a couple of times and come back in. And she says, 'Oh, I'm home now'.' Alzheimer's is described as the most common cause of dementia, which is the name for a group of symptoms associated with an ongoing decline of brain function, according to the NHS website. It is a 'progressive condition' that can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities, with symptoms developing gradually over many years and which often become more severe. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease but there are medicines available that can temporarily improve some symptoms. Speaking about the condition, Mr Frizell said: 'Society has decided we're not going to take it as seriously as we should. 'The money that's there for Alzheimer's research, it's like buying a Starbucks cup of coffee, basically trying to fight a disease. It's impossible.' He also said the pair had conversations early on about Phillips giving him lasting power of attorney to ensure that if she cannot make health or financial decisions for herself then he can on her behalf. Despite this Mr Frizell said he has been accused by some banks or utility groups of trying to 'win one over on' Phillips. He said: 'There's two types. There's health and finance, but it gives me control of those things. If she's not able to make decisions for herself, then I have power of attorney to do it on her behalf. 'Pretty much everyone, banks, utilities, should accept that – most of them do. There's one or two, I'm not going to name them, who actually are accusing me of well, actually, maybe you're trying to sort of win one over on. This needs a bit more evidence. I'm thinking, what evidence do you need? But by and large, LPA (lasting power of attorney) is a must for folks. Once you get to your 50s, you should definitely get it.' Mr Frizell announced in November that he was stepping down as the editor of This Morning, after a decade in the post, saying he was expecting 'family priorities to change' and needed to free up time for them. He oversaw the long-running morning show as it won numerous awards, including a Bafta and seven National Television Awards. Phillips is best known for presenting GMTV from 1993 to 2008, before going on to head up a number of documentaries and episodes of Panorama. She quit TV in 2018 after she started to suffer from anxiety and was also one of the Mirror's longest-serving columnists. Phillips cared for her parents after both of them were also diagnosed with the condition and has made two documentaries about the disease, one in 2009 called Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's And Me, about her family's history of dementia, and My Family And Alzheimer's in 2010. She has also served as an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Fiona Phillips' husband: Alzheimer's made her think I'd kidnapped her
She has since written a memoir titled Remember When, with the help of her husband, former This Morning editor Martin Frizell, which aims to help others who have been diagnosed with the disease. Fiona Phillips and Martin Frizell (Jonathan Brady/PA) Her husband offered an update on Phillips' condition on Friday, recounting that at times she does not remember that he is her husband. Speaking on ITV's This Morning, Mr Frizell said: 'She'd love to be here, but she's got anxiety. 'She's got a kind of a secondary problem that causes her to be in pain, a lot, a lot of pain, which adds to the confusion. So it's difficult. '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.' He explained that the condition causes 'all sort of delusions', adding that Phillips would get 'kind of worked up'. Mr Frizell added: '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. Fiona Phillips in 2019 (Ian West/PA) 'What you do is, you say, 'Let's get our coats on, let's get our shoes on', we go up around the block a couple of times and come back in. And she says, 'Oh, I'm home now'.' Alzheimer's is described as the most common cause of dementia, which is the name for a group of symptoms associated with an ongoing decline of brain function, according to the NHS website. It is a 'progressive condition' that can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities, with symptoms developing gradually over many years and which often become more severe. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease but there are medicines available that can temporarily improve some symptoms. Speaking about the condition, Mr Frizell said: 'Society has decided we're not going to take it as seriously as we should. 'The money that's there for Alzheimer's research, it's like buying a Starbucks cup of coffee, basically trying to fight a disease. It's impossible.' He also said the pair had conversations early on about Phillips giving him lasting power of attorney to ensure that if she cannot make health or financial decisions for herself then he can on her behalf. Despite this Mr Frizell said he has been accused by some banks or utility groups of trying to 'win one over on' Phillips. Fiona Phillips with husband Martin Frizell (Michael Stephens/PA) He said: 'There's two types. There's health and finance, but it gives me control of those things. If she's not able to make decisions for herself, then I have power of attorney to do it on her behalf. 'Pretty much everyone, banks, utilities, should accept that – most of them do. There's one or two, I'm not going to name them, who actually are accusing me of well, actually, maybe you're trying to sort of win one over on. This needs a bit more evidence. I'm thinking, what evidence do you need? But by and large, LPA (lasting power of attorney) is a must for folks. Once you get to your 50s, you should definitely get it.' Mr Frizell announced in November that he was stepping down as the editor of This Morning, after a decade in the post, saying he was expecting 'family priorities to change' and needed to free up time for them. He oversaw the long-running morning show as it won numerous awards, including a Bafta and seven National Television Awards. Phillips is best known for presenting GMTV from 1993 to 2008, before going on to head up a number of documentaries and episodes of Panorama. She quit TV in 2018 after she started to suffer from anxiety and was also one of the Mirror's longest-serving columnists. Phillips cared for her parents after both of them were also diagnosed with the condition and has made two documentaries about the disease, one in 2009 called Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's And Me, about her family's history of dementia, and My Family And Alzheimer's in 2010. She has also served as an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fiona Phillips' husband shares heartbreak amid Alzheimer's diagnosis: 'She thought I kidnapped her'
Fiona Phillips' husband Martin Frizzel has told how the former GMTV presenter had thought he had kidnapped her during a walk around their street, as he shared the heartbreak of her progressing dementia. Broadcaster Phillips was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2022 after losing both of her parents to the same condition, and Frizell returned to This Morning, which he had edited until earlier this year, to give an update on how she is now. Frizell, who spent 10 years at the helm of the ITV daytime show, told presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary that Phillips did not seem to remember she was married to him. He also spoke about her book chronicling her dementia, Remember When, which he contributed to. Frizell returned to This Morning on Friday, 11 July to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease and shared heartbreaking details about his wife Phillips' decline after a 2022 diagnosis. He said: "I've got this picture that I took of her at the end of our road a few weeks ago. She's looking great, she's smiling, she's got her coat on - and what you don't know is, she thought I'd kidnapped her. This was us going out. "You get all sorts of keeps saying, 'I want to go home'." Asked whether she still recognised him, he admitted: "She does recognise me most of the time, she doesn't quite know I'm her husband, but she knows who I am." Frizell added that she would often ask to go home to her parents, who both died after their dementia diagnoses, and said: "We walk round the block a couple of times, then we come back in and she says, 'oh, I'm home now'." Read more: Fiona Phillips Fiona Phillips 'lost control' before Alzheimer's diagnosis as marriage hit rocks (Manchester Evening News, 2 min read) Fiona Phillips reveals how Alzheimer's symptoms put 'strain' on marriage before diagnosis (The Independent, 2 min read) Fiona Phillips 'blocked out' Strictly memories over Brendan Cole's 'incredibly traumatising' behaviour (The Standard, 3 min read) Speaking about the book Remember When that they had written together, he explained: "It was to give her a purpose first and foremost, to give her something to do. "For most of her life she's done live television, she's a fearless woman, and then all of a sudden it stops. She's got bad depression because she wants to work. She'd love to be here, but she's not well enough to come and talk to you." Frizell and the couple's two children had begun to notice changes in Phillips around five years ago, including mood swings. "I thought, is it just a long marriage, is that just the way things go?" he said. "I hoped against hope it was menopause." Opening up on the effect her diagnosis had on their relationship and family life, he confessed: "I'm only human, I get frustrated. I do end up arguing with her sometimes, I get so worked up after the fifth or sixth or the 10th time that I say something." While Phillips has been enjoying listening to music and can remember many song lyrics, Frizell recalled Line of Duty star Vicky McClure coming into This Morning one day to speak about her dementia choir and the strong reaction it had provoked when he suggested something similar to his wife. He said: "I remember the day we had (McClure) on the sofa...I went home and said to Fiona, 'Have you ever thought of joining a choir, Fiona?' I can't tell you what the expletive was. Put that alongside 'have you thought of doing a jigsaw? Have you thought of doing watercolours?'." Speaking about how Phillips is now, Frizell said: "Although she's got Alzheimer's, she's still whipsmart and intelligent." He added that she was "still totally mobile" and said: "The old Fiona is still very much there." He told host Hammond: "She watches you and she remembers you." Frizell also spoke about his anger at the lack of funding for Alzheimer's research, which he addresses in the book. He told This Morning: "I get so angry. Society has decided we're not going to take it as seriously as we become invisible with Alzheimer's. No one wants to know because it's just so horrible." He candidly admitted: "I say in the book, I wish she'd got cancer. And I mean that, in the sense that then at least there'd be some hope." Frizell added: "It's not a sexy disease in terms of the pictures aren't great. If you start to get Alzheimer's badly, it's not a good look. On your deathbed, you look bloody awful. It's not going to get front pages. No royals seem to have had it, but they've had I stop speaking about it, I reckon it will just quietly go away into the shadows again." This Morning airs on ITV1 at 10am on weekdays.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Fiona Phillips' husband Martin Frizell gives devastating update on her Alzheimer's battle as he appears on This Morning
He revealed Fiona thought he had kidnapped her as they posed for a picture outside their home TRAGIC CHANGE Fiona Phillips' husband Martin Frizell gives devastating update on her Alzheimer's battle as he appears on This Morning FIONA Phillips' husband Martin Frizell gave a devastating update on her condition today as she continues her battle with Alzheimer's. The popular broadcaster, 64, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in 2022 and her condition has deteriorated since. Advertisement 5 Fiona Phillips' husband Martin Frizell spoke about her Alzheimer's disease on This Morning Credit: ITV 5 Martin and Fiona worked together to write Remember When 5 The couple are navigating numerous challenges as the condition worsens Credit: Getty Fiona wasn't well enough to join Martin, 66, on the This Morning sofa today as he discussed the new book they've written about her illness titled Remember When. He told hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary: "She's got bad depression because she wants to work, she's not well enough today to come and talk to you." Angry over the lack of coverage given to the condition, which is the biggest killer in the UK, Martin's initial plan to write a few paragraphs soon became 24,000 words. He said: "It started off when we knew it was Alzheimer's. It was to give her a purpose, to give her something to do. This is a bubbly smart, fearless woman, very modern woman and all of a sudden it stops. Advertisement "I just get very angry no one talks about it. We become invisible with Alzheimer's, no one wants to talk about it." Opening up about Fiona's current condition, Martin said: "She's got anxiety, she's got a secondary problem that causes her to be in a lot of pain, which adds to the confusion." Tragically, he told how Fiona thought he had kidnapped her just weeks ago as they posed for a photograph outside he family home. Martin said she suffers from delusions, though does still recognise him, even if she isn't aware of their marital status. Advertisement In a candid moment of self-reflection, Martin admitted he wasn't Mother Teresa and was prone to getting frustrated, which sometimes leads to arguments. He accepted some of his work is provocative as he said: "I wish she got cancer, at least there would have been some hope. It's not a sexy disease, the pictures aren't great, on your deathbed you look bloody awful." Fiona Phillips opens up about the heartbreaking real reason behind marriage troubles after 'blaming menopause' The hosts were visibly moved, especially Alison as Martin told her that Fiona still remembered her. Fiona, whose late mum and dad both had Alzheimer's, left GMTV in December 2008 — reportedly midway through a £1.5million contract, which cost her £500,000 — to spend more time with her family. Advertisement Fiona admitted back then that the decision was the 'hardest I have ever had to make — like jumping off a cliff and hoping someone will save me halfway down'. But she revealed she had 'finally discovered that I can't have it all' and felt like she was 'dropping balls' all over the place. While Fiona finally had more time to dedicate to Martin and their sons, her career never quite recovered. She took on bits and pieces of work — including a stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 and presenting a Channel 4 documentary titled Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's And Me in 2009. Advertisement But Fiona admitted she never felt 'completely right' and became 'disconnected' from her family. Meanwhile, she was starting to struggle with mood swings, erratic behaviour and an inability to complete everyday tasks, such as going to the bank. 5 Fiona's late dad had Alzheimer's 5 Martin and Fiona's marriage was under strain prior to her diagnosis Advertisement Things came to a head with Martin in 2021 and he moved out of the family home, accusing her of 'zoning out' of their marriage. After three weeks apart, the couple met at a hotel and agreed they wanted to stay together — but that things had to change. Fiona had initially suspected the exhaustion, anxiety and brain fog she had been battling was a side-effect of Long Covid. She contracted the virus in 2020. But by then, Fiona was wondering if her symptoms were down to menopause. Advertisement Martin urged her to talk to telly doctor Dr Louise Newson, who specialised in the menopause and recommended a course of hormone replacement therapy. But after several months of seeing little change, Dr Newson recommended she be properly assessed. In 2022, a consultant broke the heartbreaking news to the couple that Fiona, then 61, had early onset Alzheimer's. Other major Alzheimer's breakthroughs While experts have warned that dementia diagnoses in England have reached record numbers, there have been a number of recent advances against brain robbing diseases. From "game-changing" drugs gaining approval to blood tests that can spot the condition years before symptoms, here are other major Alzheimer's breakthroughs. A "game-changing" Alzheimer's drug called donanemab, that slows mental decline by up to 60 per cent has been approved in the United States. A UK decision on whether the drug will become available to patients in the UK with early symptoms is expected imminently. A blood test that detects Alzheimer's up to 15 years before symptoms emerge is set to be made free on the NHS within a year. The new test is cheaper, easier and at least as accurate as the current diagnosis options and works by measuring levels of a protein in the blood called p-tau217. Researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind test that could predict dementia up to nine years before a diagnosis, with 80 per cent accuracy. It involves analysing network of connections in the brain when it's in "idle mode" to look for very early signs of the condition. Scientists have also put AI to the test, developing machine learning models were able to spot early warning signs of the memory-robbing condition up to seven years before Alzheimer's symptoms appear. A woman who has evaded Alzheimer's disease despite half her relatives getting it could hold the clues to how to prevent it, with scientists pinpointing a particular gene which they think could help prevent Alzheimer's from progressing. Advertisement
