Motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart, whose wife Helen has dementia, has offered to talk to Bruce Willis and his family as he understands exactly what they are going through.
Helen, 82, has had the illness since 2014, and has lost the ability to walk.
The Scots Formula 1 champion, 83, who set up the charity Race Against Dementia to support research into the illness, said: “Bruce is a great man, and he can still be a great man, even with dementia.
“I’d love to give him a call. He’s a wonderful actor, a superstar. Like us, he’s lucky to have the resources for round-the-clock care. But very few people have those privileges.
“I’m hopeful that the publicity that is already being expressed globally by this very famous movie star helps to make people realise: it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve got, dementia absolutely destroys that person’s life.”
Helen, who has been married to Sir Jackie for 60 years, needs 24-hour care at their home in Switzerland, where they moved to be close to a top dementia clinic.
Helen can no longer shower, eat or go to bed independently and her memory is poor.
Sir Jackie said: “It’s a terrible thing. She doesn’t recognise she’s got dementia. I’ve just finished having lunch with her, we had a great conversation, but she will not remember what we said.”
Dementia will kill one in three people born today, but funding for research falls short of spending for illnesses such as cancer.
Sir Jackie’s charity, Race Against Dementia, aims to help change that.
He said: “The pharmaceutical industry is not doing enough. We hope to find a cure in my lifetime.
“I would love to find it in Helen’s time.”
- Find out more at raceagainstdementia.com
