Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, shared the benefit of hiring a full-time care team for her husband after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
“One benefit to getting help, whether you bring it into your home or have your person move to a community-based setting, is the ability to get back to your original role in your person’s life,” Heming Willis, 49, wrote in her new memoir, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path.
Willis, 70, lives in a second home close to the primary residence Heming Willis shares with daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. She takes the girls to visit Willis regularly, where they enjoy meals together, play with their toys and spend time with their dad.
“The other day Bruce and I sat on the patio of our second home, watching the girls swim and giggle in the pool,” Heming Willis shared. “As we held hands, Bruce hummed along to the Frank Sinatra song that was playing in the background. For a moment, it was a teeny bit of normalcy that we really needed.”
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Heming Willis admitted it “took me some time to see it that way and reframe it rather than sitting in the guilt,” adding that she can now “truly enjoy our fleeting time together, and there’s nothing I could ever do to repay our care team for that.”
Heming Willis went on to write that she is “forever grateful that I get to enjoy Bruce again as his wife and that our kids have their mom back.”
In addition to Mabel and Evelyn, Willis is also the father of daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore. Moore, 62, and the girls have been supportive of Heming Willis’ advocation for FTD research and her devout dedication to being a caregiver for Willis.
“Being the ex-wife, even though our family is very connected, is an interesting position,” Moore said during a September 2 podcast appearance. “So much fell on Emma to really figure this whole thing out, and the most beautiful thing was recognizing the importance for caregivers and that they have to take care of themselves. If they don’t put that time into making sure that they’re OK, then they can’t show up for anyone else.”
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Moore continued, “I have so much compassion for Emma in this, being a young woman. There’s no way that anybody could have anticipated where this was going to go, and I really think she’s done a masterful job. She has been so dedicated to forging the right path. She’s had equal amounts of fear and strength and courage in navigating this.”
The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path is out now.
