opening up
This Morning’s Sian Welby shares devastating update on her dementia-stricken dad who survived cancer and Covid
Sian has made a heartbreaking confession about his role in her wedding
THIS Morning star Sian Welby has given an update on her dementia-stricken dad after his "awful" battled with cancer and Covid.
The broadcaster - who made her hosting debut on the ITV daytime series in January yet was then replaced in a daytime TV shake-up - sadly confessed how her father "no longer has any short term memory."
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Sian, 37, has been candid about parent Ian's medical battles.
She heartbreakingly told how she was "lucky" the 84-year-old still recognises her in a chat with .
Opening up further on his battle with vascular dementia she told the publication: "If someone calls, he puts the phone down and can't remember who it was.
"If mum pops out to the shops, he can't remember when she left - or when she's coming back."
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Sian addressed his medical condition during her week on the show.
She was dubbed the front-runner to permanently replace Holly Willoughby on the programme yet the show is still undergoing its presenter rotation.
Bookies previously named the radio host as favourite to become a permanent host following Holly's shock exit in October 2023,
What are the main signs of Dementia?
SIAN Welby has opened up on her dad Ian's Dementia battle - here are the main signs:
Dementia symptoms vary depending on the cause. But common signs and symptoms include:
- Cognitive changes
- Memory loss, which is usually noticed by a spouse or someone else
- Confusion and disorientation, such as not knowing the place or time
- Difficulty:
Communicating or finding words
Following a conversation
With visual and spatial abilities, such as getting lost while driving
Reasoning or problem-solving
Handling complex tasks
Planning and organising
With coordination and motor functions - Psychological changes
- Personality changes such as:
Depression
Anxiety
Inappropriate behaviour
Paranoia
Agitation
Hallucinations
Previously, Sian broke down on her Capital radio show as she told how Ian had "cheated" death in 2022.
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It came after her dad, who was already battling cancer, caught Covid.
This sparked a diagnosis of sepsis and pneumonia in both lungs before he dropped down to six and a half stone.
Radio star Sian Welby presents This Morning alongside Dermot O’Leary
At the time, Sian exclusively told us: "He was so ill, we all thought he was going to die.
"He couldn’t even open his mouth to eat, he went down to six and a half stone.
"He went so downhill in such a short amount of time the doctors thought he had advance dementia and would be bedridden. We had to tell them, 'no! He wasn’t like this at all before!'
"They presumed he was a doddery old man. I had to show them a video of him on a trampoline taken a few months ago to prove how active he used to be!
"He couldn’t speak, couldn’t drink, too ill to have his chemo cancer treatment, so we just honestly thought he was going to die."
Yet the bride-to-be has high hopes Ian will play a key part in her upcoming wedding.
Sian is set to say I Do to radio producer Jake Beckett next year.
She added to OK! how it "would be a dream" to have Ian involved.
She said: "That's what made me cry when Jake and I got engaged, I think.
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"I was thinking, maybe dad will actually be involved. Maybe, he'll actually see me get married."
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