Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2022. His health has since deteriorated, and now, he lives full-time with caregivers. His wife, Emma Heming Willis, has been very open about Bruce’s diagnosis. Now, she shared a heartbreaking reflection on how they navigated his dementia for Christmas.
Ever since Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his wife, Heming Willis, has been open with sharing the struggles her husband is going through, but also how they as a family feel. Now, as Christmas arrives, the 47-year-old writes on her blog about the struggles her family has faced over the holidays.
Emma penned down a reflection of feeling sadness while navigating her husband’s dementia. She acknowledged that the holidays “look different” now, adding that they have had to plan in a whole different way.
She began her blog post, “The holidays have a way of holding up a mirror, reflecting who we’ve been, who we are, and what we imagined they would be. When you’re caring for someone with dementia, that reflection can feel especially poignant. Traditions that once felt somewhat effortless require planning- lots of planning. Moments that once brought uncomplicated joy may arrive tangled in a web of grief. I know this because I’m living it. Yet despite that, there can still be meaning. There can still be warmth. There can still be joy. I’ve learned that the holidays don’t disappear when dementia enters your life. They change.”
Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis shares update
Emma Heming Willis continued by speaking about grief.
“Before anything else, I want to say this, it’s okay to grieve. Grief doesn’t only belong to death. It belongs to change, and the ambiguous loss caregivers know so well. It belongs to the realization that things won’t unfold the way they once did, it belongs to the absence of routines, conversations, or roles that were once so familiar you never imagined them ending.”
Looking back, Emma shared insight into Bruce Willis and his feelings about Christmas. She stated that he “loved” this time of the year, including the “energy, fmaily time, the traditions”
“He was the pancake-maker, the get-out-in-the-snow-with-the-kids guy, the steady presence moving through the house as the day unfolded. Dementia doesn’t erase those memories,” she continued. “But it does create space between then and now. And that space can ache.”
In September, Emma shared the tough news that Bruce had moved into a nearby one-story home staffed with full-time caregivers. It was a heartbreaking decision for her and her family, but a necessary one for the Die Hard star.
Will make Bruce’s favorite pancaces for Christmas
In her blog post, she wrote that Bruce can no longer do the things he used to do.
“I find myself, harmlessly, cursing Bruce’s name while wrestling with the holiday lights or taking on tasks that used to be his,” she said. “Not because I’m mad at him, never that, but because I miss the way he once led the holiday charge.”
“Yes, he taught me well, but I’m still allowed to feel annoyed that this is one more reminder of how things have changed,” she continued.
Emma continued by encouraging her followers facing the same challenges as she to embrace change and also try to make new memories.
“This holiday season, our family will still unwrap gifts and sit together at breakfast. But instead of Bruce making our favorite pancakes, I will,” she wrote.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bruce Willis and his family. Please share his post to show your support.
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