"Emma has done an absolutely remarkable job of providing the right support for Bruce," the specialist said.
Emma Heming Willis has now taken the role of her husband's full-time caregiver. After Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia, which subsequently led him to step away from acting in March 2022, he was given a new diagnosis last month.
The Die Hard star has frontotemporal dementia, his family said sharing that his condition has worsened since they first announced the news of his aphasia diagnosis last year. The actor suffered from cognitive impairments and had trouble remembering his lines.
Emma Heming, his wife of 14 years, knew she had to step in and take care of her husband. The 44-year-old is learning all that she can about FTD to give her 67-year-old husband the best life possible. She's working with dementia care and education specialist, Teepa Snow, to do so.
"I'm grateful I had the opportunity to work with @teepasnows_pac who has helped me add to my dementia care toolbox," she wrote on Instagram sharing a picture of the two. "She's a loving, compassionate and skilled leader in this space who navigates herself with pure empathy. She's a gift," she added, while also sharing Snow's website link to help others. "Head to the link in my bio as her website has a wealth of caregiving information you might find useful too💌 #dementiaawareness #ftdawarness #EndFTD #EveryFTDStoryCounts," she concluded her post.
In the comments, Snow responded with kind words. "@emmahemingwillis has done an absolutely remarkable job of providing the right support for Bruce as his abilities have changed and created a place, space and life that continues to provide him with what he needs to live well," Snow said adding that the disease isn't easy "but with the right programming and support, it truly is possible to continue living life. Congrats to Emma and their entire family for their very very hard work and dedication. It is truly remarkable!"
A source previously told PEOPLE that the aphasia diagnosis has "been hard for" Emma as "it's not easy seeing a spouse's health decline." The insider said "Emma has to keep it together" for Evelyn, 7, and Mabel, 10, the couple's daughters. At the time she already began "working with several professionals to help" her husband, and "has arranged for him to see the best doctors."
"He has an assistant at home to make sure that he is safe, but Emma takes care of him too," the insider added, "Because Bruce is older than Emma, they knew that his health might decline sooner than hers. Still, his diagnosis has been shocking for her."
In her full statement announcing the diagnosis to the public, she said she knew her husband would want to use his "voice in the world to help others and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately. We know in our hearts that – if he could today — he would want to respond by bringing global attention and connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families."
References:
https://www.instagram.com/emmahemingwillis/
https://www.theaftd.org/mnlstatement23/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Dimitrios Kambouris
