How is Bruce Willis? “It’s hard to know if he understands what’s going on.”
His wife, Emma Heming, gave an update on his state of health on American TV this week.
Bruce Willis never be the same again. And his wife, Emma Heming Willistalks today about how difficult their daily life is, since her husband was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
In the morning of Today Showon NBC, she wanted to talk about the illness and when the presenter, Hoda Kotb, asked her how the actor was doing, she responded painfully:
“What I’m learning is that dementia is a tough life. It’s tough on the person diagnosed. It’s tough on the family, too. And it’s no different for Bruce, and it’s no different for me, nor for our daughters. When they say it’s a family disease, it really is.”
And when she asks him if Bruce Willis realizes what is happening to her, she responds by suggesting that the actor from Die Hard is no longer quite there: “It’s hard to know if he understands what’s going on. Really hard to know…”
Accompanied by the president of an association for the prevention of frontotemporal dementia, Emma Heming wanted to warn about this dramatic situation which can affect everyone and whose symptoms include speech problems, motor difficulties such as walking and changes in behavior and personality. The frontal lobe of the brain, affected by the disease, also controls self-perception, which could reflect Willis’ difficulty understanding his own illness.
Exclusive: In honor of World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness week, Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis speaks to @hodakotb about the condition in her first interview since his diagnosis.
“It was the blessing and the curse,” Emma said of receiving Bruce’s diagnosis. pic.twitter.com/VY5yhVjZIf
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 25, 2023
Heming Willis, who considers himself the “ care partner » from her husband, assures despite everything that there is still a lot of joy in her family, despite the diagnosis:
“There are so many beautiful things happening in our lives. It’s really important for me to look beyond the grief and sadness so that we can see what’s happening around us. Bruce would really want us to be in joy. He would really want that for me and our family.”