Bruce Willis‘ wife has revealed she has developed a new way to communicate with the ailing Hollywood action star as he slowly loses his battle with a rare form of dementia.
The 70-year-old was diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease in 2023; now in a heartbreaking admission, his wife of 14-years, Emma Hemming Willis has explained how she has maintained their connection
Emma, 47, who shares two daughters with the actor, admits that because he struggles speaking, their communication has had to evolve.
She told The Times: ‘Bruce and I now have our own language, our own way to be with each other.
‘It’s just about sitting with him, walking with him, listening to him as he tries to verbalise in his own language. Hearing him, validating him. You know.
‘I can’t ask him how he’s feeling, what’s wrong, or if something hurts.
‘Instead I read his body language or look into his eyes to understand what’s bothering him and what he’s experiencing.’
Willis was first diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder which impacts how the brain comprehends and formulates language, in 2022.
The Hollywood actor was first diagnosed with aphasia, disorders impacting how the brain comprehends and formulates language, in 2022
In 2023 the Die Hard star was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of the disease
The family say they have struggled since the diagnosis and Bruce is under 24 hour care
A year later Willis was also diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a form of the disease most typically found in people aged between 45 and 65.
It is caused by the progressive loss of nerve cells in the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes.
As those areas shrink, it can lead to changes to a sufferer’s personality, behaviour and language skills.
Other changes can include lack of judgement, being easily distracted, as well as motor problems such as muscle weakness and tremors.
There are different types of FTD, but estimates suggest between 50,000 and 60,000 have some form of the disease in the US, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Hemming Willis is certain that despite his medical issues, she is convinced their connection remains intact.
She said: ‘We have these moments of connection all the time.
‘Do I think he knows, “Oh, this is Emma, and we’ve been married for this many years”?
Emma Hemming Willis found herself go from wife to ‘carer’
‘I don’t know what that process is for him. And when he puts his arms around me, it just feels like Bruce.
‘It’s not different in that way. And that’s really, really beautiful and really, really heartbreaking. It’s such a loss.’
Hemming Willis said that the situation for the family was ‘hard’ whilst calling FTD an ‘unkind disease’.
She added: ‘It constantly takes. Even when you think it can’t take any more, it takes a little more.’
Detailing the experience in her new book The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, Hemming Willis writes: ‘Realising that there is no treatment, no cure. It was one of the most traumatic experiences, feeling completely alone.
In an excerpt of the book, shared by US Weekly, Emma explained why the decision was made for the Death Becomes Her star to move out of the family home and into separate living quarters with 24-hour care.
She says that while the choice was ‘painful’, it was one she believed Willis would want.
‘Even though they’d lived with his disease for so long that they understood, and even though this decision ensures Bruce’s overall well-being and safety and allows our young children to thrive, it was an uncertain and painful time for us,’ Emma wrote.
‘In fact, it’s still painful for me. After all, this is my husband, and having him in another home was not part of the future we’d mapped out together. You really can’t dream this stuff up.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .