Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming has revealed the astonishing call she got from a ‘very prominent doctor’ as she nurses her husband amid his dementia decline.

The Die Hard star withdrew from Hollywood in 2022 after being diagnosed with the brain condition aphasia, which causes the patient’s language abilities to deteriorate.

In 2023, his family announced that his illness had ‘progressed’ and he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

As her husband copes with his illness, Emma has been frank on social media about the strain she experiences in looking after him.

While unfailingly expressing her love for Bruce, she has also pointed out that ‘caregivers need care too’ as they tend to their charges.

Now she has shared her story of the conversation she had with a doctor that showed her how little ᴀssistance is offered to people in her shoes.

Bruce Willis ‘ wife Emma Heming has revealed the shocking call she got from a ‘very prominent doctor’ as she nurses her husband amid his dementia decline; Emma pictured in October 

The Die Hard star withdrew from Hollywood in 2022 after being diagnosed with the brain condition aphasia; Bruce and Emma pictured in 2018

‘I received a call from a very prominent doctor the other day, letting me know that he has a family who’s just been diagnosed with young onset Alzheimer’s, and they have three children aged 10, 12 and 14, and that he needs all of my resources, any contacts. And I was like: “Huh?”’ she said in an Instagram video.

‘And I have the contacts, and nothing makes me happier than to be able to be of service and to support the next caregiver, which I happily pᴀssed on,’ she added.

Read More Bruce Willis’ wife admits Gene Hackman and Betsy’s tragic deaths hit home amid actor’s dementia battle

‘The thing that just boggles my mind is how do our doctors not already have a Rolodex of ways to support caregivers?’ Emma marveled.

She added: ‘The other thing that just is so upsetting to me is, when I receive messages from families that have just been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia or some type of dementia, and they’re asking me for my resources.’

Emma noted: ‘I’m not even in the same state as them, same city. It’s very hard to sort of pᴀss on those resources, except to like the ᴀssociation For Frontotemporal Dementia or things like that. But it’s just like, they need to do better. Doctors need to do better. Doctors really do need to have a road map of just some support.’

She explained that this issue contributed to her decision to write her book The Unexpected Journey: Finding Hope And Purpose On The Caregiving Path, which is scheduled for publication this September.

When Bruce received his diagnosis, Emma ‘was handed a pamphlet,’ she recalled. ‘I was not handed one resource and we gotta put an end to that.’

One day earlier, she had confessed that Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s deaths hit home, amid her own husband’s deterioration.

This past October Emma posted a throwback sH๏τ of herself with Bruce, quipping in the caption: ‘Doing selfies before they had a name’

One day earlier, she had confessed that Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s deaths hit home; Gene and Betsy pictured at the 1994 Vanity Fair Oscar Party 

 Autopsies have revealed how Gene and Betsy died, solving the mystery that hung over the couple after their corpses were discovered at home earlier this month.

Betsy, 62, succumbed to a rodent-borne disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) on February 11 – and then lay in their Santa Fe house decomposing as Gene, 95, suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s, wandered about the luxury property confused and possibly unaware she was even ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

Gene himself eventually lost his life to a cardiovascular disease exacerbated by his Alzheimer’s, several days after his wife, with officials noting that the final activity on his pacemaker occurred on February 17. 

Emma said the news ‘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: ‘I think there’s this common misconception that caregivers, they got it figured out, they got it covered, they’re good.’

Emma declared: I don’t subscribe to that. I think that we need to be showing up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person.’

Bruce has been surrounded by his close-knit blended family, who have rallied around him to help him cope with his health struggles. 

He and Emma have been married since 2009 and are the proud parents of two daughters, 12-year-old Mabel and 10-year-old Evelyn.

The Red star also shares a friendly rapport with his ex-wife Demi Moore, the mother of his elder three daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 31

The Die Hard star also shares a friendly rapport with his ex-wife Demi Moore, the mother of his elder three daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 31.  

In late December, Emma candidly discussed the complicated feelings she was grappling with on her 17th anniversary with Bruce.

‘Anniversaries used to bring excitement – now, if I’m honest, they stir up all the feelings, leaving a heaviness in my heart and a pit in my stomach,’ she wrote.

‘I give myself 30 minutes to sit in the “why him, why us,” to feel the anger and grief.  Then I shake it off and return to what is. And what is… is unconditional love.’

Emma warmly continued: ‘I feel blessed to know it, and it’s because of him. I’d do it all over again and again in a heartbeat.’

In October,  Demi shared an update on Bruce’s condition while speaking onstage at the 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival.

‘You know, I’ve said this before. The disease is what the disease is. And I think you have to be in real deep acceptance of what that is. But for where he’s at, he’s stable,’ Demi said in a conversation with moderator Alina Cho, according to People.

Demi had seen Bruce two days prior to her film festival appearance, when he enjoyed a visit with Rumer’s daughter Louetta, one – his first grandchild. 

Bruce has been surrounded by his close-knit blended family, including both his wives and all his daughters, who have rallied around him to help him cope with his health struggles 

She makes a point of finding quality time with Bruce, holding onto the idea of ‘being able to share with whatever we have, for however long we have.’

Demi also shared her advice on having a loved one with dementia, saying: ‘What I always encourage is to just meet them where they’re at.’

She added: ‘When you’re holding on to what was, I think it’s a losing game. But when you show up to meet them where they’re at, there is great beauty and sweetness.’

Glenn Gordon Caron, who created Bruce’s star-making 1980s sitcom Moonlighting, observed last October that he was losing his ‘joie de vivre’ and ‘language skills.’

‘My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am,’ said Glenn in a devastating interview with the New York Post.

‘He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader – he didn’t want anyone to know that – and he’s not reading now.’