Bruce Willis plays basketball in wife’s video after aphasia diagnosis
Bruce Willis is dunking on.
The “Die Hard” star, whose family announced his aphasia diagnosis earlier this year, appeared to be in high spirits Monday as he played a game of backyard basketball with some mates.
“I see you BeeDub,” Willis’ wife, Emma Heming, captioned a video on her Instagram Story of him shooting the ball through the net.
The actor, 67, wore a dark gray sweater, khaki trousers, gray sneakers and a blue baseball cap in the clip, which came a few days after the model, 43, admitted to struggling with her husband’s health news.
“I put my family’s needs above my own, which I found does not make me any kind of hero,” she told The Bump in an interview published last week.
“That amount of care for everyone else within my household had taken a toll on my mental health and overall health,” she continued. “And it served no one in my family.”
Heming, who shares daughters Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, 8, with Willis, noted that she was “making the time for self-care” every day.
“Someone told me not long ago that when you over-care for someone, you end up under-caring for yourself,” she shared. “That stopped me in my tracks and really resonated with me.”
Heming, along with her husband’s ex-wife, Demi Moore, and their kids, Rumer, 33, Scout, 30, and Tallulah, 28, released a joint statement in March revealing Willis was retiring due to his health struggles.
“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” they wrote on Instagram.
“As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him,” they continued. “As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”
Aphasia is a condition that can affect a person’s ability to speak, write and understand language, with treatment including speech and language therapies, per the Mayo Clinic.
Involvement from the patient’s family members who can aid their ability to communicate is also key. Luckily, Willis has the support of Heming, Moore, 59, and all five of his children.
