05 July 2023 , 11:32
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Fiona Phillips' husband has revealed the question they asked one another moments after a doctor confirmed Fiona's Alzheimer's diagnosis last year.
The veteran broadcaster was diagnosed with the condition, which has "ravaged" her family, aged just 61 which she had kept to herself until now.
Fiona, 62, opened up about her news and explained that she was taking a trial drug, which her husband Martin Frizell injects into her stomach, which could slow the progression down or reverse her condition, if successful.
In a raw and open admission, the couple have disclosed what ran through their minds when they received the news and how they managed to process what had been said.
Fiona Phillips has opened up about her Alzheimer's diagnosis (Philip Coburn)Fiona had previously explained she was living in fear of the condition that both her parents and her uncle suffered from, explaining that she believed she would have been diagnosed in her 80s. Speaking to the Mirror editor Alison Phillips, Fiona said that she hopes she is able to help discover a cure for the disease.
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"I just felt sick," said Martin. "We both sat in silence. There was no funny line to make this go away. Nothing smart to say. Nothing. And then the doctor said he'd leave us in the room alone for a bit to digest it all. We just looked at each other and said: 'S**t. What are we going to do?'"
Fiona adds: "It was the shock. Total shock. And then we said to each other... 'Shall we go and have a drink?' so that's what we did. In fact, we've now become locals at the pub on the square by the hospital!"
Fiona and Martin were then faced with the enormous challenge of What Next?
"The doctor had said it was very early stages so we just had to go home and try to live our life as normal for now," says Martin. "That was all we could do."
Fiona and husband Martin explained that they went to a nearby pub shortly after her diagnosis (Getty Images Europe)But what is 'normal' with an illness for which there remains no cure?
Amid the shock there was some hope to cling to - clinical trials for drugs which could slow the progress of the disease were ongoing at University College Hospital (UCH) in London - and the research team was still looking to recruit trialists.
Fiona was also put on some of the existing drugs which have been prescribed in the UK for the disease for almost 20 years. But while they may mask symptoms for some patients, they do not slow or reverse the disease's progress.
Prior to her diagnosis, the Mirror columnist had been suffering from brain fog and anxiety, which the couple believed was due to the menopause.