Emma Heming Willis is opening up concerning the challenges going through her husband, Bruce Willis, as he lives with frontotemporal dementia.
Three years after Willis stepped away from his career after having been diagnosed, his spouse spoke with ABC’s Diane Sawyer for a special titled, “Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an “umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These areas of the brain are generally associated with personality, behavior and language.”
Heming Willis instructed Sawyer that Willis is mostly in good well being for the time being, however it’s “his brain that is failing him.”
“The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt,” she stated. “And we have a way of communicating with him which is just a different, a different way.”
The couple are mother and father to two daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. Willis additionally has three grownup daughters, Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, together with his ex-wife, actress Demi Moore.
Heming Willis stated she instructed their daughters early on about their father’s sickness. She stated she initially saved their household remoted in an effort to keep away from something that might agitate Willis, however ultimately realized she wanted extra assist. Hemming Willis stated it led her to “one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” which was to transfer Willis to a separate, one-story residence the place he may obtain across the clock care.
Not that he’s disconnected from the household as Heming Willis stated she has breakfast and dinner with him day by day and he nonetheless maintains a loving relationship with all of them.
“He’s holding our hands,” she stated. “We’re kissing him. We’re hugging him.”
They have been married since 2009. Heming Willis misses having the ability to discuss with Willis like she used to. She even is aware of what she would focus on with him if she may.
“Just how he’s doing, [if] he’s okay, he feels okay. If there’s anything that we could do to support him better. I would really love to know that,” she stated. “If he’s scared. If he’s ever worried. You know, I just would love to be able to, just to have a conversation with him.”
The particular is streaming on Hulu and Disney+ and Heming Wilis’s ebook, titled “The Unexpected Journey,” comes out September 9.