Jessica Redmayne, a recent addition to the Home and Away cast, has spoken up about her mother’s diagnosis of dementia, claiming that the experience has altered her “view on the world.”
As Harper Matheson, Redmayne recently joined the cast of Home and Away. Although Channel 5 in the UK has not yet shown her episodes, she is now on the serial opera in Australia.
Redmayne talked about her mother Tina, who was identified with early-onset dementia in 2014, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
In light of Bruce Willis’ battle with dementia, his wife Emma Heming Willis provides an emotional update.
“Everyone has their s**t, Dad told me, and this is ours,” It altered the way I view the world. It’s quite difficult to realize they’re going to eventually forget who you are and that they have no idea I’m her daughter, Redmayne added.
She reached a stage when she still knew my name but was unaware that I was her child, the woman continued. She mistook me for her best friend and was unaware that she had children.
Dementia is a neurological disorder that makes it difficult for a person’s brain to think properly and remember details about other people and things, which can cause confusion and make it difficult to carry out daily chores.
Related: Emma Heming Willis, Bruce Willis’ wife, provides an emotional update throughout the actor’s battle with dementia.
“Dad said to me, everyone has their s**t, and this is ours. It changed my perspective on the world. To know they’re going to inevitably forget who you are, and have no concept of me being her daughter is incredibly challenging,” Redmayne said.
She continued: “She got to a point where she still knew my name, but didn’t realise I was her child. She thought I was her best friend, she couldn’t grasp she had kids.”
Dementia is a neurological condition that causes a person’s brain to lose its ability to think clearly and remember things and people, leading to confusion and an inability to carry out everyday tasks.
Related: Julie Goodyear, star of Coronation Street, has been diagnosed with dementia
Dementia Action Week, which raises awareness of the disorder and takes place from September 18 to 24, is now being led by Redmayne in Australia.
ITV reporter Alistair Stewart recently shared his own experience with being diagnosed with dementia, stating that it was discovered when he started to feel “a bit discombobulated.”
“I wasn’t forgetful, but things like making sure your tie was straight, remembering that the call time for your program is four o’clock and not five o’clock, not turning up early or late, and stuff like that,” he said. “That’s how I wear these lovely moccasins now.”
Julie Goodyear of Coronation Street received a dementia diagnosis earlier this year, and Bruce Willis’ spouse, Emma Heming Willis, discussed her husband’s illness last month.
