Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, posted an emotional plea on Instagram asking families of dementia sufferers for advice on how to help their loved ones navigate the world safely. This comes a year after it was announced that the 67-year-old actor would be stepping away from his career after he had been diagnosed with aphasia.
Last month, his family said the illness had progressed to frontotemporal dementia.
Willis’ diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia can include symptoms like personality changes, speech difficulty, and motor impairment.
FTD affects the lobes of the brain behind the forehead, which deal with behaviour, problem-solving, planning, and emotions – with symptoms including personality changes, obsessive behaviour, and speaking difficulties.
Heming Willis posted the Instagram video on Saturday, stating it was in ‘service for raising awareness about dementia.’
She acknowledged the difficulties and stress of caregivers helping those with the illness navigate the world. In her caption, the actor’s wife asks for advice on how to do this with her husband following his diagnosis.
Willis shares Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah with ex-wife Demi Moore and Mabel and Evelyn with his wife Emma, to whom he has been married for 14 years.
The retirement announcement ended Willis’ decades-long career, during which he earned a Golden Globe award and two Emmys.
Willis’ acting career began with small, just roles in television shows like Miami Vice and The Twilight Zone in the early 1980s.
He started gaining attention thanks to his starring role opposite Cybill Shepherd in the ABC series Moonlighting, which ran from 1985 to 1989; his breakout role was as John McClane in the hit film Die Hard, which premiered in 1988 and led to six sequels.
FTD is rare, making up less than five per cent of all dementia cases, but it is one of the most common forms of the disease in people under 65.
Sufferers are usually aged between 45 and 65 at diagnosis. The rate at which FTD progresses varies greatly, with life expectancies ranging from two years to more than 10 after diagnosis.
As it progresses and more of the brain becomes damaged, symptoms often become similar to those in the late stage of Alzheimer’s.
Treatment focuses on helping a person live well by easing their symptoms. This may include counselling or a speech and language therapist.
»Emma seeks help towards her husband’s health condition«
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