Wedding anniversaries are typically a time of joy in people’s lives. However, Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma Hemming, have recently experienced a different reality. The model recently opened up to fans about her struggle with her husband’s dementia diagnosis — especially during their 14th wedding anniversary.
The CDC explains that dementia is an “impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities.” Because of this, Emma wasn’t expecting her husband to remember the special occasion. Emma shared on Instagram that she confided in a friend about her anniversary, who then sent her a “sweet bouquet of flowers.” Although the gesture was incredibly kind, it helped her realize life’s big moments are often difficult for caregivers. She wrote, “It got me thinking about how hard these types of ‘special occasions’ can be on caregivers. When usually our person would acknowledge the event, now their changing brains just can’t. And that is what it is.”
Even though Bruce may not have remembered their anniversary, Emma lauded the compassionate effort made by her friend — and encouraged others to do the same. She said, “If you know someone that is looking after someone else, don’t ask what you can do, just do. This random act of kindness will honestly stay with me for a long time.”
