But now 75-year-old Chris has been thrown into a twilight world with the same disease that deafens speech as the Hollywood action movie Bruce Willis. 4 Chris’s wife, Anita, said: “It’s awful, we were so alone” Credit: Oliver Dixon 4 Hollywood legend Bruce Willis has revealed that he suffers from aphasia – a condition that affects parts of the brain and communication skills Credit: Getty The decision of Die Hard’s 67-year-old actor Bruce to reveal his aphasia inspired 75-year-old Chris to share his own diagnosis, of which only a few relatives and friends knew. Aphasia is when parts of the brain associated with the tongue are damaged and can sometimes strike after a stroke or head injury. Chris’s wife, Anita, 69, told the Sun on Sunday: “It’s awful, we were so alone. Chris is trapped in his body. He can understand what is happening around him, but he can not speak, read or write. “It has not made sense for 18 months. Sometimes I feel like I have lost my charismatic, very funny and caring husband. “It’s frustrating for both of them, but when he looks me in the eye I see he’s still there. I cried buckets, it’s a kind of mourning. “But he is still here with us, still very caring and loving.” Chris was diagnosed with aphasia after a severe stroke in the summer of 2020. Anita, a 42-year-old faithful wife, found him on the bedroom floor of their home in Brighton and “immediately realized he had a stroke.” The ambulance crew was unable to move his body under their narrow spiral staircase, so they passed him through a skylight before being airlifted to hospital. But doctors were unable to remove the blood clot safely and told Anita to “prepare for the worst.” Her voice is shocked, she remembers: “Chris could not move his tongue, he could not move anything. “Doctors warned he could not stand the night.” But he survived and in two weeks was taken to a rehab center in nearby Haywards Heath where he learned to walk and eat again. But since then the road to recovery has been long. Anita says: “His face had fallen on the right side and he was constantly running, and in a wheelchair for a while. “When he learned to eat again, he ate like a small child, with his hands and food fell everywhere. “When he tried to shave, he was holding the razor in the wrong way.” Also now he is learning the alphabet again. It was at Detox that Chris was diagnosed with aphasia after a visit by the charity Say Aphasia. Sufferers may also have trouble understanding others – but not Chris. When we talk about The Bill – the ITV soap opera he starred in for ten years in the ’80s and early’ 90s – he smiles from ear to ear and says, “Burnside!” It’s awful, we were so alone. Chris is trapped in his body. He can understand what is happening around him, but he can not speak, read or write. Anita Ellison Appreciating the support of children Louis, 40, and Francesca, 32, and caregiver Grace Whittingham, 21, she puts her hand on her heart and whispers, “Lucky.” But when he first returned home with the newly diagnosed aphasia in November 2020, he was too nervous to leave home. A local celebrity in Brighton, he was afraid to meet people and could not deal. Anita says: “When you are a celebrity, people recognize you. So when we go out, they go, “Hello, Chris,” and he looks at me. “He hated it, he could not even say hello. Eventually he did not go out, he did not want to see friends. We have seen some, but it is frustrating for him. It was very lonely for both of us.” Former The Bill actor Mark Wingett, who played PD Jim Carver, was a big supporter. Anita says: “He calls and when Chris hears his voice, they pick him up.” Anita, who worked as a model for the QVC shopping TV channel, has become a full-time caretaker for Chris, but admits she has had a hard time. She says: “I called the Stroke Association and said: ‘I need help because I’m losing my patience.’ “I was sent details about the teams, but I do not have time to attend. I called the doctor and said, ‘I do not want to be here. I’m depressed a lot, as life is extremely different now. I’m determined to get my Chris back. We will return the good moments. Love and determination will help us. Anita Ellison “But I’m determined to get my Chris back. We will return the good moments. “Love and determination will help us.” Their home, overlooking Brighton Beach, is still full of Chris – including the talented artist’s paintings and many of Charles Dickens’s novels. Anita says: “Chris was a very talented artist. He painted every day. He also enjoyed sailing, cycling, swimming, cooking – and reading one book a day. There was always noise in our house. We often had fun. It was life and soul, the joke. But now it is quiet. “ Neuroscientist and author Dr. Julia Jones says aphasia affects more than 350,000 people in the UK and there is no definitive cure, but treatments can help – including music and, if possible, writing and drawing. Anita hopes that talking about Chris’s condition can help. He says: “I want people who approach him to talk to him even if he can not respond. I hope to break the silence. “I also hope that saying that she has aphasia will help all the people who have it to become more understood.” 4 Chris’s wife, Anita, said: “I’m determined to get my Chris back. Credit: Carlton Television 4 Bruce’s decision to reveal his aphasia inspired Chris to share his own diagnosisCredit: Getty
