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Emma Heming Willis opens up about her family amid Bruce Willis' dementia

Posted on by Vanessa
Emma Heming Willis opens up about her family amid Bruce Willis' dementia

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NEW YORK – Two public figures who seemingly have few things in common bonded over shared experiences with care and trauma during a panel discussion Tuesday afternoon in New York City.

Town and Country magazine's annual Philanthropy Summit brought together Emma Heming Willis, wife of actor Bruce Willis, and “Good Morning America” ​​co-host and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan to talk about the caring she have shown their loved ones.

Heming Willis takes care of her husband after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Strahan had to deal with a cancer diagnosis in his family last year when doctors diagnosed his then 19-year-old daughter Isabella Strahan with a brain tumor.

“Probably the thing that broke my heart the most and made me emotional was when she looked at me,” Strahan recalled, fighting back tears. “She says, ‘Dad, I’ll do whatever it takes. I don't want to die.'”

Strahan called the comments following Isabella's third brain surgery “the worst thing I've ever heard.”

“I don't mind a coach saying, 'You suck,'” he remarked, immediately sparking laughter in the room. “I don’t mind if someone tweets that you suck. But hearing your child say that… yeah, it definitely makes you different.”

Emma Heming Willis: Frontotemporal dementia 'won't ruin our whole family'

Both Strahan and Heming Willis recalled the initial problems they faced when trying to obtain a correct diagnosis for their loved ones. The first doctor Strahan's daughter saw suspected there might be a problem with her sinuses.

Willis was initially diagnosed with aphasia, which turned out to be a symptom of frontotemporal dementia, for which there is no cure. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, frontotemporal dementia “and other frontotemporal disorders are a common cause of early-onset dementia” and “progressively deprive people of basic skills—thinking, speaking, walking, and socializing.”

Heming Willis decided to make a public statement about his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia to raise awareness of the condition, which is the most common form of dementia in people under 60.

“I hate public speaking. “My husband really misled me,” joked Heming Willis. “What’s the other option? The other possibility is that FTD is simply cornering you and wants to do just that. And I think… This illness will affect Bruce, but it won't bring down our entire family.”

Michael Strahan gives update on daughter Isabella Strahan

Strahan told the audience that his daughter had learned to talk and walk again. Isabella, who announced in July that she was considered “cancer-free,” also enrolled in summer classes to catch up on missed school work.

Both he and Heming Willis mentioned how the public's support has buoyed them.

“I knew how much Bruce was loved, but when I saw how much love and compassion was showered on him…I had to stand underneath it and feel it,” Heming Willis said.

The panel took place at the Hearst Building in Manhattan. It was hosted by Katie Couric, who lost her husband Jay Monahan to colon cancer in 1998. Couric co-founded the organization Stand Up 2 Cancer, which has committed nearly $800 million “to SU2C's innovative cancer research programs,” according to its website.

The nonprofit will be featured Tuesday night during Game 4 of the World Series in New York.

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