Prue Leith is opening up about a frightening medical episode that sent her to the hospital after she temporarily lost part of her vision and struggled to speak clearly.
The 86-year-old former Great British Bake Off judge described the incident in her “Prue’s News” column for The Oldie, explaining that the episode happened while she was visiting Yorkshire, England.
Leith, who has experienced migraines since childhood, said she initially recognized the familiar warning signs.
“It followed a familiar path,” she wrote. “First, I can see only half of whatever I’m looking at.”
She said the visual disturbance was quickly followed by a bright circle of flickering, colored lights in the upper-right portion of her vision.
Leith explained that she normally takes medication quickly when those symptoms begin in an effort to prevent a severe headache. But the situation became more concerning when her speech was affected.
Her husband, John Playfair, became alarmed after Leith’s words turned into what she described as an “incomprehensible jumble of disconnected words.”
Although Leith believed she was experiencing another migraine, she said she was unable to explain that clearly.
“I tried to tell him it was just a migraine, but I couldn’t string two words together,” she recalled.
Playfair contacted their doctor, who took the symptoms seriously.
Leith said she was still able to raise her arms and make a fist, and she did not notice facial drooping or pain. Even so, because trouble speaking can be associated with a stroke, the doctor called an ambulance.
After arriving at the hospital’s accident and emergency department, Leith said she was repeatedly assessed by medical staff.
By the time she eventually saw a doctor after a lengthy wait, her speech had returned to normal.
Leith continued to insist that she believed the episode was a migraine, but doctors chose to investigate further as a precaution.
She underwent a CT scan and was later released at around 2 a.m. The doctor also explained that additional brain imaging was being recommended because people in her age group can be more vulnerable to mini-strokes.
Leith said she remained convinced that the episode was connected to her history of migraines.
She revealed that she experienced her first migraine when she was just 9 years old and has dealt with them for decades.
Still, she understood why doctors and her family did not want to dismiss the symptoms.
Leith acknowledged that speech problems can be a classic warning sign of stroke and said the medical team wanted to be “safe not sorry.”
Despite spending hours in the hospital, Leith said she was not angry about the experience.
Instead, she praised Britain’s National Health Service staff for the way she was treated, describing them as “cheerful, sympathetic, polite, helpful and professional.”
“You may have to wait forever,” she wrote, “but when it is your turn, you are treated as if you were the only patient in A&E.”
For Leith, the episode ultimately reinforced the importance of taking sudden neurological symptoms seriously, even when they resemble a medical condition someone has experienced before.
