In many of Bruce Willis' best movies, he's a bonafide badass. He's an icon of the screen with generation of fans, which is why it was a shock when Willis was forced to retire thanks to health issues. The iconic actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and the public has been closely following any updates from his loved ones. And his wife Emma Heming Willis recently spoke about the "blessing and the curse" of his declining health.
Emma Heming Willis has been open about when she saw changes in Bruce, as well as what it's been liking serving as his caretaker since the diagnosis. She recently appeared on the podcast Conversations with Cam, where she revealed a silver lining related to her husband's health. Namely, that he doesn't necessarily understand that he's sick. In her words:
I think that's like the blessing and the curse of this, is that he never connected the dots that he had this disease, and I'm really happy about that. I'm really happy that he doesn't know about it.
Dementia is a daunting diagnosis, and there's (understandably) a great deal of fear that comes when one finds out about the uphill battle of treating it. But according to Emma Heming Willis, Bruce's mental health decline actually resulted in him not knowing that he's got frontotemporal dementia. And the fact that he can be kept blissfully unaware seems to be a silver lining in this otherwise impossible situation.
Emma has been serving as both a caregiver and an advocate for her husband. For instance, she begged paparazzi to not yell at Willis in public, so that he doesn't become confused or agitated. In the same podcast, she went on to speak more about how and why the Die Hard icon doesn't realize the nature of his health condition, sharing:
People think this might be denial, like they don't want to go to the doctor because they're like, ‘I'm fine, I'm fine,’ actually, this is the anosognosia that comes into play. It's not denial. It's just that their brain is changing. This is a part of the disease.
But while Willis' dementia is affecting his speech, Emma also shared that there's still a ton of love between them, as well as with his children. That's something the disease hasn't been able to take away, as she put it:
He is still very much present in his body… when someone says to me, ‘Does Bruce still know who you are?’ Yes he does, because he doesn’t have Alzheimer’s he has FTD. He has a way with connecting with me, our children, that might not be the same as you would connect with your loved one but it’s still very beautiful and meaningful. It’s just different. You just learn how to adapt.
From all the ways that Emma Heming Willis has taken care of her husband and shared information about his condition to the public, it's pretty remarkable to hear about her compassion and strength of character. It sounds like the 70 year-old actor is surrounded by love, which is no doubt a comfort to his generations of fans.
Our thoughts continue to be with the entire Willis family during this difficult time. But it's heartening to hear about just how much love is still within his home.
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