Emma Heming Willis is opening up in regards to the “guilt’ she feels over having access to “resources” amid husband Bruce Willis’ dementia battle.
“When I’m able to get out for a hike to clear my head, it’s not lost on me that not all care partners can do that,” Heming Willis, 45, wrote in a Saturday, November 11, article for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper. “When what I share about our family’s journey gets press attention, I know that there are many thousands of untold, unheard stories, each of them deserving of compassion and concern.”
In recognizing her privilege, Heming Willis maintained that it’s “important” for her to be an “advocate” for individuals who “don’t have the time, energy, or resources to advocate for themselves.” She famous that she continues to be open about her struggles in hopes that it’ll assist others “feel seen and understood.”
“I want people to know that when I hear from another family affected by FTD, I hear our family’s same story of grief, loss, and immense sadness echoed in theirs,” she added.
The entrepreneur defined that hope is “everything” in relation to coping with a household sickness. “I have so much more hope today than I did after Bruce was first diagnosed,” she shared. “I understand this disease more now, and I’m now connected to an incredible community of support. I have hope in having found a new purpose — admittedly one I never would have gone looking for — using the spotlight to help and empower others.”
In March 2022, Heming Willis and Willis’ ex-wife, Demi Moore, revealed that Willis could be stepping again from the highlight as he battled aphasia. Earlier this 12 months, the household revealed that the actor had obtained a “more specific diagnosis” of frontotemporal dementia. “Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead,” they wrote by way of Instagram in February.
Heming Willis — who shares daughters Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, 9, with the Die Exhausting star — has usually been candid in her ups and downs as continues to assist her husband by way of his well being battle. Showing on a September episode of the Right now present as a part of World Frontotemporal Dementia Consciousness Week, she revealed it’s each a “blessing and [a] curse” to have extra readability about Willis’ situation.
“It doesn’t make it any less painful, but just being in the acceptance and just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce just makes it a little bit easier,” she shared.
Following her Right now look, Bruce’s daughters Tallulah Willis, 29, and Scout Willis, 32, took to social media to reward their stepmother for her power. (Bruce shares daughters Tallulah, Scout and Rumer Willis, 35, with Moore, 61. The pair had been married for greater than a decade earlier than their 2000 break up.)
“I truly could not be more proud of @emmahemingwillis for being willing to step out into the public eye, (even though it’s terrifying!!!) to share our family’s story in service of spreading awareness about FTD,” Scout gushed by way of her Instagram Story on the time. “Emma you are such a champion for this cause and you inspire me EVERY SINGLE F–KING DAY.”
The unwavering assist is what helps the household pull by way of, a supply completely informed Us Weekly in April 2022, noting that Bruce is “blessed to have them” round. “They’re all pulling together, and that’s what matters.”
Heming Willis, in the meantime, wrote in her Sunday Paper article that hopes she and her family members will proceed to search out “joy in the small things” and “in coming together to celebrate all the moments life has to offer” regardless of the more durable days.
“I know I still have so much to learn about FTD, this community, and how research on the disease is evolving. But I’m finding my footing,” she stated. “As much as I grieve this experience daily—as I know so many others do—I also know that it has made me stronger than I ever thought possible.”