AssetID: 55351783
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Emma Heming Willis feeling a 'mix of grief' while navigating husband Bruce's dementia at Christmas
Caption: Emma Heming Willis feeling a 'mix of grief' while navigating husband Bruce's dementia at Christmas. Bruce Willis' wife, Emma Heming, has spoken about what it's like to navigate her husband's illness at Christmas. The Die Hard actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and primary progressive aphasia (PPA) in 2022. In an Instagram post, Emma opened up about the sadness that she feels at this time of year, acknowledging that holidays "look different now.” "Moments that once brought uncomplicated joy may arrive tangled in a web of grief. I've learned that the holidays don't disappear when dementia enters your life. They change.” She revealed that Bruce can no longer do the things he used to be able to. ”I find myself, harmlessly, cursing Bruce's name while wrestling with the holiday lights or taking on tasks that used to be his. 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 recalled how Christmas was always one of his favourite times of the year. ”He loved this time of year - the energy, family 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.” She told how "Dementia doesn't erase those memories. But it does create space between then and now. And that space can ache.” She concluded by telling how they'll spend this Christmas. ”We'll put on a holiday movie. There will be laughter and cuddles. And there will almost certainly be tears because we can grieve and make room for joy. The joy doesn't cancel out the sadness. The sadness doesn't cancel out the joy. They coexist.” Bruce, 70, and Emma, 47, married in 2009. They share two daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT
Keywords: Emma Heming Willis,Bruce Willis,Wife,Navigating,Husband,Dementia,Christmas,Time,Aphasia,FTD,Actor,Mabel,Evelyn,Children,Family,Coping
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