Martin Frizell gives sad update on wife Fiona Phillips’ dementia diagnosis

Martin Frizell shares heartbreaking update on wife Fiona Phillips' dementia diagnosisBBC Newsnight

Transcript

00:00I wonder if you could tell us how she is.

00:02I used to say good days and bad days, now I just say bad days or wretched days.

00:06I think wretched is a great word for it.

00:08Today, for example, it's a typical day I'd take her to hospital.

00:12She's got a secondary pain.

00:14We don't know where the pain's coming from.

00:15We don't know if it's neurological.

00:17We don't know if it's physiological.

00:19So I went to see a doctor today.

00:21And just as an exercise, I counted in the 35-minute cab ride.

00:26I couldn't drive her because she panics and it's bad enough.

00:29Just driving with that, too.

00:31I wouldn't take her on public transport because I'm frightened people see her.

00:35And she doesn't look any different, but she'd get flummoxed by it.

00:39So in the cab ride, 35 minutes, she asked me 72 times, where are we going?

00:45And each time I'd say, I'm going to see the doctor and hopefully he'll take the pain away.

00:49And then literally 15 seconds later, where are we going?

00:53So that's pretty much most days where her short memory is shot.

00:58I left her tonight, though, a couple of pills that help her sleep because up until now,

01:02she's been waking up at 4 in the morning, 5 in the morning, 6 in the morning, which gets everybody up, too.

01:08And these pills are helping her.

01:09And these pills are helping her.

01:10And they're helping her.

01:11And they're helping her.

01:12And they're helping her.

01:13And they're helping her.

01:14And they're helping her.

01:15And they're helping her.

01:16And they're helping her.

01:17And they're helping her.

01:18And they're helping her.

01:19And they're helping her.

01:20And they're helping her.

01:21And they're helping her.

01:22And they're helping her.

01:23And they're helping her.

01:24And they're helping her.

01:25And they're helping her.

01:26And they're helping her.

01:27And they're helping her.

01:28And they're helping her.

01:29And they're helping her.