On Saturday, Emma Heming Willis, wife of Hollywood actor Bruce Willis, issued an emotional plea to the paparazzi and video people who are attempting to get “exclusives” of her husband, who has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
The family of the 67-year-old actor announced on Feb. 16 that he had been diagnosed with dementia after his retirement last spring. In a statement, his family said his condition had worsened into FTD, a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone. It is the most common form of dementia for people under 60 but can take years to diagnose due to the lack of awareness and research.
In her plea, Willis asked the paparazzi to keep their distance when her husband is out and asked the video people not to yell at him or ask him how he is doing. She said it can be difficult and stressful to take someone with dementia out into the world, and that the previous day his friends had done a “stand-up job protecting him.”
“This one is going out to the photographers and the video people that are trying to get those ‘exclusives’ of my husband out and about: Just keep your space,” she said. “I know this is your job, but maybe just keep your space. For the video people, please don’t be yelling at my husband, asking him how he’s doing … just don’t do it, okay?”
Willis also said that her husband had always hoped to use his voice and influence to raise awareness about issues that concerned him. She asked for “continued compassion” as they hope he is able to live “as full a life as possible.”
FTD is a progressive disease that eventually robs its victims of the ability to communicate thoughts and understand spoken words. It is caused by progressive nerve cell loss in the brain’s frontal lobes and temporal lobes. Symptoms of FTD include difficulty with language, decision-making, and behavior.
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