This Morning star reveals emotionally that she hopes her dad dies before the ‘cruel’ disease worsens | Celebrity News | Showbiz and television

This Morning presenter Sian Welby has admitted in an emotional new interview that she “can’t bear” the thought of her father’s dementia getting worse and has even thought about his death.

According to the NHS, the 37-year-old’s dad, Ian, 84, suffers from vascular dementia – a common type of disease caused by reduced blood flow to the brain.

The host said she is “almost in denial” about her dad’s illness getting worse and is “holding on” to his current condition, while “he just seems forgetful.”

She explained: “Some days are worse, others don’t get me wrong. Sometimes the repetition is almost unbearable, (but) with him it’s mainly about memory, not behavior as such.

“But the thought of him just not knowing who we are and my poor mom, she’s terrified that one day she’ll wake up and (not know).

“He had moments where he didn’t know who she was and he thought it was her mom who he recognized.”

Talking further about the later stages of dementia and memory decline, the mother of one went on to discuss a difficult conversation she had already had with her family.

“Just thinking about this stage, if I’m honest, I wish he had died sooner, and that weird feeling my sister and I were talking about,” she shared on the It Can’t Just Be Me podcast.

“At one point, when he was really bad and we thought he might never walk again, he got sick, which, combined with everything else, was terrible.

“And we almost wished he had died because we want someone to be able to pass away in a respectful and peaceful way.

“And it seems so cruel that if you can’t cure these things, there’s not even a decent way, you just have to let it do its thing, and you don’t know how many years it will take, that’s why it’s so cruel.”

She added: “You may watch someone you know and love be torn away from you in plain sight, before your eyes, but their shell and body still represent them, so you will never be sad because you will be constantly reminded of it. about who they were and to me that’s what makes it so terrible.”

For now, Sian said she still treats her dad normally and includes him in tasks and conversations where possible. To remind him of times and dates and jog his memory, it also helped to buy a clock that also shows the current year.

According to the NHS, it is estimated that around 180,000 people in the UK suffer from vascular dementia.

Early symptoms may include mild:

• slowness of thinking
• difficulties with planning
• trouble understanding
• problems with concentration
• changes in mood or behavior
• memory and language problems (but these are not as common as in people with Alzheimer’s disease)

The website also states that these problems may be barely noticeable at first or be mistaken for something else, such as depression, but they indicate that some brain damage has occurred and treatment is needed.

Symptoms often worsen over time. This may happen slowly or in sudden steps every few months or years.