Former television star Fiona Phillips has made her message clear to the British public: "Thank you."
Her grateful reply was shared to people after the unwavering support and love received since sharing on Wednesday she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The Mirror reports the star thanked all of her celebrity friends, and thousands across the UK who have stopped her in the street to say: "Good luck, we're rooting for you."
All of the stars, politicians and athletes who graced the screens when she was a presenter, she has also expressed her thanks for their love and concern.
And she noted that above all, there are thanks given to the medics and scientists working hard to run revolutionary trials at University College Hospital, London, to find a drug which could stall or even reverse the condition.
The 62-year-old said: "People have been so kind to me. Because I was worried about sharing the news I have this awful disease. I was anxious people would be staring or whispering about me or would just write me off as a batty old woman.
"But there has been incredible kindness. And so many people have told me about how Alzheimer’s has hit their families, as it has attacked mine, and somehow it just makes them feel a little bit less alone."
The Mirror shared some of the kind messages Fiona has received. One reader wrote in, sharing his experience with Fiona at a TV studio when he was a bodyguard for Wayne Rooney.
He said: "She was lovely and bubbly. I still smile when I remember that very brief meeting. I am at the same stage of Alzheimer’s as she is now, sadly."
Fiona responded to the reader, sharing her sympathy for his own Alzheimer's battle, as she said: "I remember him. How sweet of him to write."
And despite her memory serving well to remember events decades ago, Fiona finds it difficult to recall more recent memories. When asked about how she felt about seeing her picture and story in the newspapers and on TV this week, she is uncertain.
Fiona, who was diagnosed last year after months of brain fog and anxiety, added: "Oh, I didn’t really take much notice."
Other celebrities and former colleagues also paid tribute to Fiona this week, as well as adoring fans. Friends like Piers Morgan, Kate Garroway, Holly Willoughby, Lorraine Kelly and Susanna Reid all sent their love, as well as politician mates like Yvette Cooper and Harriet Harman.
Many have dubbed Fiona as "brave", but she isn't so sure about that description.
Fiona said: "I’m not brave. I’ve just got to get on with it. I mean, what’s the alternative, to lie down and give up?"
However, there is definitely bravery in speaking out about this illness, from both Fiona and her family.
Fiona said: "I didn’t want to make a big thing about it. But then Martin said, ‘Do you want to embrace this and what is happening to you… or do you want to hide away?’
"And I didn’t want to hide away. I want to go out and I want to work."
Fiona recalled how her mum, Amy, was initially desperate to keep her illness secret - after being diagnosed in her late 50s before dying with dementia in 2006 aged 74. Soon after this, Fiona's dad Neville was also diagnosed with the disease, and died in 2012.
She added: "Mum didn’t want anyone to know she had it. It was like it was shameful and it is sad people have been made to feel like that. I hope by speaking out it might make it easier for others to talk to friends and neighbours if it is happening in their family."
Fiona also praises her sons Nat, 24, and Mackenzie, 21, for their sweet and lovely reaction to her news.
Fiona said: "The boys haven’t said much about it but they are very sweet. Mackenzie, who’s still living at home, just says things like, ‘Don’t worry about tidying up Mum, I’ll do that, you rest.’ I guess that’s his way of showing he cares. They are lovely boys."
Fiona’s understanding of how Alzheimer’s sinisterly grows until it overwhelms people is clear because of her family’s history. She added: "I do worry about becoming a hopeless old lady not able to do anything for myself."
But for the star, it is important to share the scary nature and anxieties surrounding the disease, and she has no intention of sugar coating her journey to the public.
Fiona said: "I am trying to keep smiling and getting on with things but it is a bloody horrible disease. All I can do is keep hoping these trials will make a difference and help find a cure. We have to stop it massacring families like mine."
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