It’s “hard to know” if Bruce Willis is aware that he has frontotemporal dementia (FTD), according to his wife, Emma Heming Willis, in an update on his status.
Heming Willis discussed how the diagnosis has impacted the couple and their two kids with Hoda Kotb on NBC’s Today programme on Monday.
“I’m realising that dementia is difficult. It’s difficult for the individual who has been diagnosed. It’s also difficult on the family. “And it’s no different for Bruce, myself, or our daughters,” she said. “And when they say that this is a family disease, it really is.”
Kotb inquired of Heming Willis if her husband was aware of his condition, to which she replied, “Hard to know.”
Susan Dickinson, CEO of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, joined Heming Willis on the programme to raise awareness about FTD.
Dickinson added that one of the things that the disease impairs is self-awareness, and as a result, some individuals lose sight of the fact that they have changed.
Kotb also inquired about Heming Willis’ reaction to the diagnosis.
“I think it was the blessing and the curse,” she said, adding that it’s nice to finally grasp what’s happening to him, even though it’s still difficult.
“Just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce just makes it a little bit easier,” she said.
“We’re a very honest and open household,” she said of how they described the issue to daughters Mabel and Evelyn. “And, you know, the most important thing was to be able for us to say what the disease was, explain what it is, because when you know what the disease is from a medical standpoint it sort of all makes sense.”
“So it was important that we let them know what it is because, you know, I don’t want there to be any stigma or shame attached to their dad’s diagnosis, or for any form of dementia,” Heming Willis said.
She also made a favourable statement.
“He is the gift that keeps on giving,” she described her spouse. “Love, patience, resilience, so much.”
“Bruce would really want us to be in the joy of what is, he would really want that for me and our family,” she said.
Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February this year, after resigning from acting in March 2022 owing to aphasia, a speech condition.
“Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed,” remarked the Willis family at the time. “Unfortunately, communication difficulties are only one symptom of Bruce’s disease.” While this is terrible, having a firm diagnosis is a comfort.”
FTD is a collection of illnesses characterised by a buildup of tau and other cell-destroying proteins in the brain’s frontal or temporal lobes (behind your ears). According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, the ailment commonly hits between the ages of 45 and 64.
According to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, “the most common dementia for people under 60, FTD can cause communication challenges as well as changes in one’s behaviour, personality, or movement.”
According to the US National Institute on Ageing, people with FTD generally survive six to eight years. FTD is inherited in 10% to 30% of cases. There are no other known risk factors outside genetics, while experts are looking at the involvement of the thyroid and insulin in the disease’s genesis.
It’s “hard to know” if Bruce Willis is aware that he has frontotemporal dementia (FTD), according to his wife, Emma Heming Willis, in an update on his status.
Heming Willis discussed how the diagnosis has impacted the couple and their two kids with Hoda Kotb on NBC’s Today programme on Monday.
“I’m realising that dementia is difficult. It’s difficult for the individual who has been diagnosed. It’s also difficult on the family. “And it’s no different for Bruce, myself, or our daughters,” she said. “And when they say that this is a family disease, it really is.”
Kotb inquired of Heming Willis if her husband was aware of his condition, to which she replied, “Hard to know.”
Susan Dickinson, CEO of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, joined Heming Willis on the programme to raise awareness about FTD.
Dickinson added that one of the things that the disease impairs is self-awareness, and as a result, some individuals lose sight of the fact that they have changed.
Kotb also inquired about Heming Willis’ reaction to the diagnosis.
“I think it was the blessing and the curse,” she said, adding that it’s nice to finally grasp what’s happening to him, even though it’s still difficult.
“Just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce just makes it a little bit easier,” she said.
“We’re a very honest and open household,” she said of how they described the issue to daughters Mabel and Evelyn. “And, you know, the most important thing was to be able for us to say what the disease was, explain what it is, because when you know what the disease is from a medical standpoint it sort of all makes sense.”
“So it was important that we let them know what it is because, you know, I don’t want there to be any stigma or shame attached to their dad’s diagnosis, or for any form of dementia,” Heming Willis said.
She also made a favourable statement.
“He is the gift that keeps on giving,” she described her spouse. “Love, patience, resilience, so much.”
“Bruce would really want us to be in the joy of what is, he would really want that for me and our family,” she said.
Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February this year, after resigning from acting in March 2022 owing to aphasia, a speech condition.
“Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed,” remarked the Willis family at the time. “Unfortunately, communication difficulties are only one symptom of Bruce’s disease.” While this is terrible, having a firm diagnosis is a comfort.”
FTD is a collection of illnesses characterised by a buildup of tau and other cell-destroying proteins in the brain’s frontal or temporal lobes (behind your ears). According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, the ailment commonly hits between the ages of 45 and 64.
According to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, “the most common dementia for people under 60, FTD can cause communication challenges as well as changes in one’s behaviour, personality, or movement.”
According to the US National Institute on Ageing, people with FTD generally survive six to eight years. FTD is inherited in 10% to 30% of cases. There are no other known risk factors outside genetics, while experts are looking at the involvement of the thyroid and insulin in the disease’s genesis.
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