‘We’re going to need years of therapy’: Big Brother star Tully Smyth speaks of the impact her mother’s death from dementia has had on her family
Former Big Brother star Tully Smyth lost her mother Kay Smyth to dementia last year.
Speaking to NCA NewsWire on Sunday, the 32-year-old admitted she and her family ‘will never be the same’ and will need ‘years of therapy’ in the wake of her death.
Tully’s mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers when she was 51, and over the next 16 years, the reality star assisted her father Phil in caring for her mother.
‘We’re going to need years of therapy’: Big Brother star Tully Smyth (pictured), 32, spoke of the impact her mother’s death from dementia has had on her family, in an interview with NCA NewsWire on Sunday
‘As [mum’s] condition deteriorated, so did dad,’ Tully said of the impact dementia has, not just on the sufferer, but their families too.
Tully’s father quit his job in order to become Kay’s full-time carer at home.
The influencer admitted: ‘I didn’t want to hear about what was going on, to face up to the reality, but I had to grow up really quickly and step up to the plate because he didn’t have anyone else.’
![Impact: 'As [mum's] condition deteriorated, so did dad,' Tully said of the impact dementia has, not just on the sufferer, but their families too. Tully is pictured as a child with her mother Kay](https://i2.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/07/16/09/16104290-7251673-Sad_farewell_Last_week_Tully_made_the_difficult_announcement_tha-a-5_1563265735822.jpg?resize=634%2C793&ssl=1)
Impact: ‘As [mum’s] condition deteriorated, so did dad,’ Tully said of the impact dementia has, not just on the sufferer, but their families too. Tully is pictured as a child with her mother Kay
Early onset: Tully’s mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers when she was 51, and over the next 16 years, the reality star assisted her father Phil in caring for her mother
Kay was later admitted to a home, and with her young age, was 20 to 30 years younger than most of the other residents.
Tully admitted that life for her family will never be the same.
‘Me and my two brothers will never be the same. We’re going to need years of therapy – my poor dad is just a shell of a human being.’
Family: Tully’s father (pictured) quit his job in order to become Kay’s full-time carer at home: ‘I didn’t want to hear about what was going on, to face up to the reality, but I had to grow up really quickly and step up to the plate because he didn’t have anyone else,’ Tully said
In July last year, Tully shared an emotional post dedicated to her late mother on Instagram.
A clearly distraught Tully was seen covering her face with one hand as she cried hysterically.
Her other hand was seen clutching her mother’s hand.
Devastating loss: Tully’s mother (right) lost her battle with dementia in July last year
‘There is nothing worse than watching someone you love slowly disintegrate, feeling totally and utterly helpless,’ she wrote.
Tully then urged her followers to make a donation to Dementia Australia to help find a cure for the devastating disease.
‘It would mean the world… to myself, my family and all the other families dealing with dementia if you could donate,’ she wrote.
Worthy cause: Tully then urged her followers to make a donation to Dementia Australia to help find a cure for the devastating disease