Bruce Willis' wife, Emma Heming Willis, has shared a heartbreaking birthday plea amid her husband's dementia diagnosis.
The 45-year-old model - who has been married to the Die Hard star for 14 years - took to Instagram to post a series of images celebrating her birthday with her loved ones.
"Hi! It’s my birthday and I’ve had an epic week getting to celebrate with some of my beloved family and friends," Emma penned, sharing a series of photos of her with her daughters Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, nine.
In honor of her special day, the mother-of-two revealed that she has a few wishes that she hopes her more than 844,000 followers "could make a reality".
Read Emma’s post below:Emma asked her readers to reach out to the caregivers they know and offer support, even in a "small" way, explaining: "Text or call a person in your life that’s a caregiver and let them know here is X, Y, or Z I can do to help you this week."
"Drop some food at their doorstep or flowers or a small something and text them after to let them know it’s there," the sweet post continued. The model - who has been a steady presence at the Pulp Fiction actor's side - also said an alternative is to praise the caregiver and tell them "that they are doing a great job".
"That kindness and support will go such a long long way," she concluded, ending the post with a sweet picture of her and her husband leaning on each other with their eyes closed.
Upon seeing her post, many users on the social media platform flooded the comment section with praise for Emma. One person wrote: "Dear Emma - you are doing a great job and you are an inspiration as a caregiver/mom/wife/person!"
Another user said: "You are a beautiful person Emma and doing an incredible job! Sporting you and your family from Ottawa Canada."
A third person shared: "Thank you for this post. I am taking care of my husband. He was diagnosed at 60, we just had 5 years of being married. That was 8 years ago, and I am still taking care of him, 24/7. I follow your posts, on them I find strength and love. Thank you for sharing!"
Emma became a caregiver after her 68-year-old husband was diagnosed with aphasia - which affects one's speech and language - and his follow-up diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in 2022.
In a joint statement shared on The Association for Frontotemporal Dementia website, his family described the condition as a "cruel disease," and went on to say that "FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know".
The Sixth Sense star has remained largely out of the spotlight since news of his health was made public, but his blended family frequently posts updates about him on social media.
Recently, Willis' daughter Tallulah Willis shared the heartbreaking truth about her father's deteriorating health in a first-person essay for Vogue. She opened up about how she’d known something was wrong with him "for some time".
The 29-year-old said: "My family announced in early 2022 that Bruce Willis was suffering from aphasia, a brain-mediated inability to speak or to understand speech, and we learned earlier this year that that symptom was a feature of frontotemporal dementia, a progressive neurological disorder that chips away at his cognition and behavior day by day."
The Whole Ten Yards actress said she knew "something was wrong for a long time," as it "started out with a kind of vague unresponsiveness, which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: 'Speak up! Die Hard messed with Dad's ears,'" however, that unresponsiveness "broadened".
The young actress said that her dad still knows who she is, "give or take a bad day," and that she tries to "savor that time," however, she sadly admitted that "trials are looming," saying, "this is the beginning of grief".
"There’s this little creature changing by the hour, and there’s this thing happening with my dad that can shift so quickly and unpredictably," the doting daughter wrote, concluding: "It feels like a unique and special time in my family, and I’m just so glad to be here for it."
