As Bruce Willis lives with frontotemporal dementia, his wife Emma Heming Willis has become an advocate for others supporting loved ones with longterm care needs.
She reflected on the tragic deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife and caregiver Betsy Arakawa in a video shared on Instagram this week.
“So this is not something I would normally comment on, but I do really believe that there is some learning in this story,” Heming Willis said of Hackman and Arakawa.
The couple was found dead in their New Mexico home in late February.
Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus and days later, Hackman, 95, died of heart disease, the New Mexico medical investigator’s office revealed last week.
Authorities, working to lay out a timeline of what happened, said Hackman had Alzheimer’s disease and may have not realised he had been alone in the days before he died.
“It’s just made me think of this broader story, and that is that caregivers need care too and that they are vital, and that it is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person,” she continued.
Heming Willis said there is a “common misconception” that caregivers “have it all figured out.”
“They’ve got it covered, they’re good,” she added.
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“I don’t subscribe to that,” she continued.
“We need to be showing up for them so they can continue to show up for their person.”
She captioned her video, “Caregivers need care too. Period. Full stop. #supportcaregivers.”
Heming Willis knows from what she speaks.
It was announced in 2022 that Willis would be stepping away from his acting career due to cognitive issues. He was later diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which is a progressive brain condition.
He and Heming Willis wed in 2009 and share two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn.
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