Bruce Willis's wife has debunked the myth that he has lost his memory

Emma Heming, the wife of Hollywood actor Bruce Willis, has debunked a widespread myth that her husband has allegedly stopped recognizing his loved ones due to a serious illness. She explained that Bruce has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which people often confuse with Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia does not affect the parts of the brain responsible for memory, so the actor remembers his family perfectly well. 

According to the actor’s wife, in Bruce Willis’s case, the disease has primarily had a serious impact on his speech. At the same time, there are other forms of this condition that can cause noticeable changes in a person’s behavior or impair their motor functions. Emma added that despite her husband’s preserved memory, the disease remains a very difficult emotional ordeal for the entire family.

Heming shared that because of the illness, loved ones have to constantly grapple with various losses and live in a state of endless grief, which she has already learned to cope with. The psychotherapist who is helping the family described this specific emotional state of the relatives as a process in which people are essentially mourning someone who is still present and alive. According to Emma, with any form of dementia, there is always a sense that the disease is irrevocably taking something away from a person, even if they are physically right there with you.

Source: The Bossticks.