Emma Heming, famous Hollywood action hero Bruce Willis’s wife, is writing a book on how to care for dementia patients. The 68 year old actor’s family announced in March 2022 that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a type of mental disorder that affects the ability to communicate. Less than a year later, the family issued a statement that the actor’s illness had progressed. Specifying the details of the illness, the statement confirmed that Bruce had frontotemporal dementia, otherwise known as FTD. The actor has retired from films since. The last movie he appeared in was Assassin, which was released in 2023 and received less than favourable reviews.
Family Missed Out on Early Signs of Bruce Willis’s Dementia
Bruce Willis’ illustrious career as an action hero came to an abrupt halt after the diagnosis was made public. The debilitating disease has affected the actor’s communication skills. It has become increasingly difficult for the Die Hard action hero to speak or even understand what is being said to him.
The actor had started displaying the signs years before the disease was diagnosed. People working with him noticed something was amiss, as he would often forget his lines and miss the cues. While shooting for Out of Death, released in 2020, the director, Mike Burns, emailed the screenwriter to abbreviate Bruce’s dialogues and ensure there were no long monologues either.
Bruce’s condition came to light pretty late as the family misconstrued the early signs of the disease as absentmindedness or misbehavior on his part. After the actor’s condition was made public, his daughter, Tallulah Willis, wrote an emotional essay for Vogue, in which she shared her perspective on her father’s condition and highlighted symptoms that might have been the early signs of his illness.
It started out with a kind of vague unresponsiveness, which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: ‘Speak up! Die Hardmessed with Dad’s ears,’
Willis wrote. “Later that unresponsiveness broadened, and I sometimes took it personally. He had had two babies with my stepmother, Emma Heming Willis, and I thought he’d lost interest in me. Though this couldn’t have been further from the truth, my adolescent brain tortured itself with some faulty math: I’m not beautiful enough for my mother, I’m not interesting enough for my father.”
In a recent interview, Emma said it was “hard to know” whether the Pulp Fiction actor knew about his condition.
Raising Awareness About FTD
Recently, in an interview, Emma Heming Willis revealed that she has been a care partner of her husband since his diagnosis came to light. Drawing upon her experiences as a caregiver, Emma is currently working on a book on how to take care of a person suffering from dementia. The book is scheduled to be out in 2025.
“Dementia not only affects your loved one but can shake a whole family’s foundation, and self, if you allow it,” Emma Heming Willis said in a statement. “Identifying the right resources to educate and enlighten myself has been powerful and has allowed me the space to continue to move forward in the most positive way so that I can be the best mother, wife, daughter, friend, and care partner. I want to be able to share that with the next person who finds themselves here.”
After the diagnosis, Emma immersed herself in raising awareness for FTD, which has no cure as of now. Writing the book is perhaps an extension of that. The thought behind the book was to give voice to people who have been dealing with similar situations. “I want people to know that when I hear from another family affected by FTD, I hear our family’s same story of grief, loss, and immense sadness echoed in theirs. It’s important to me to be an advocate on behalf of those families who don’t have the time, energy, or resources to advocate for themselves,” she wrote in an article for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper.
Emma also emphasized the importance of community in dealing with such illnesses. Knowing that there are others who are going through the same tough conditions, mentally and physically, gives one a sense of support. “Suddenly, I wasn’t alone anymore and I could seek the support Bruce, myself, and our family so desperately needed,” she wrote. “With a specific diagnosis, you have a chance to find a community. “You get to connect with people who understand your story immediately. You don’t even have to explain yourself. The people I’ve met and interviewed in the FTD community have so much compassion, and are so determined to make things better for the next family.”
What is Frontotemporal Dementia or Degeneration?
Frontotemporal dementia is a rare brain disorder that is caused by loss of nerve cells in the temporal region of the brain. The mental disease can lead to behavioral changes, difficulty in communicating and understanding language.
What causes this degeneration of the brain is, as yet, unknown. However, researchers believe that people who have a genetic history of dementia are more susceptible to it. This disease is difficult to diagnose as it is rare and its symptoms resemble other types of FTDmental disorders such as depression, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or other psychiatric problems.
People suffering from the disorder display different kinds of symptoms. Some may say or do things totally out of character; some may lose interest in activities and become indifferent and distant; some may have trouble understanding language or speaking; and some may find it difficult to manage day-to-day activities.
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