Timothy West shares update about wife Prunella Scales' dementia: 'The prognosis is not that cheerful'

Dementia is one of those illnesses that catches people off-guard. With more diagnoses by the day, big names such as Bruce Willis are currently battling issues such as frontotemporal dementia.

While the disease gives out common signs and symptoms that confirm its early onset, there are also somelesser known signs of dementia that are easy to miss.

Recently, Timothy West, the husband of Prunella Scales, revealed a glimpse into her battle with dementia, and it is heartbreaking, to say the least. LikeEmma Willis is a caregiver to Bruce Willis, Timothy West is the chief caregiver to Prunella. Here’s the current update about Prunella’s tryst with the deadly illness.

Prunella West’s battle with dementia

88-year-old Timothy West recently shared Prunella’s current health update, and it was nothing short of saddening. He opened up to Saga Magazine about their day-to-day struggles with the disease and the challenges they face. He said the following words about it.

For someone like Pru with any form of progressive dementia, the prognosis is not that cheerful.

But she seems to manage incredibly well with things, as I try to, but surely she must sometimes wonder whether she is going to be allowed to end her days in this house that has been so dear to us.

Not recognising me hasn’t been a problem, but it will come, I’m sure.

Prunella’s heartbreaking condition

Prunella West is currently 91 years old and is struggling with her health. The Fawlty Towers actor’s husband Timothy first spoke about her condition in 2014, when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease clubbed with dementia. And ever since then, it has been a steady decline as the disease has slowed her down. And in 2020, due to the severity of her condition, she had to put an abrupt end to her illustrious career as an actor.

Timothy, who is her chief caregiver, has often expressed the grief and sadness associated with seeing Prunella’s health taking a downward fall. He said the following to the magazine about what their daily routine looks like.

There’s a lot of time you have to spend making sure Pru knows where she is and where I am. But we share a bed together, we get up, come downstairs, have breakfast, and chat.

Now that her condition has worsened, I miss Pru’s companionship as my best friend.

The love that keeps on giving

Despite the fact that the couple is dealing with something deadly such as dementia, that doesn’t stop Timothy and Prunella from sharing their love for one another, endlessly. Having been married for 60 years, Prunella and Timothy are one of those evergreen couples that exude love. In a special film program aired by The One Show, the love was very much felt, and Timothy even said some touching words about his beloved wife and their love story that started with a letter. As per The Express, this is what Timothy West said.

Prunella and I will be celebrating our diamond wedding anniversary next month and it has been 60 splendid years together."It has been important to us to record our love story in our memoir. We first met when we were cast in a really terrible play.

She was just a nice person who was just as bored of the play as I was. Pru is known for the many characters she has played on screen.

When I first met Pru, I was married with a young daughter, but the relationship was falling apart. Pru and I stayed in touch and we started writing letters to each other. We loved letters.

Read more:

⋙ Dementia: The chronic use of antibiotics and its effects on cognitive function

⋙ Poor vision: It could mean you have higher risk of having dementia, as per study

⋙ Dementia: These are the first symptoms of young onset dementia

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Exceptional: 'We stay in the moment' – Timothy West opens up about wife Prunella Scales’ dementia