The Medical Condition Hallmark's Kimberly Williams-Paisley's Mom Lived With

Kimberly Williams-Paisley's mom, Linda Williams, was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia in 2005. According to the Mayo Clinic, primary progressive aphasia occurs in patients before the age of 65 and is pretty rare. The syndrome causes patients to have "trouble expressing their thoughts and understanding or finding words." The Hallmark actor has spoken openly about her mom's health. In fact, she wrote a book about it in 2016. "Where the Light Gets In: Losing My Mother Only to Find Her Again" tells the story of her family's journey following the heartbreaking diagnosis. Williams died in November 2016, just before the book was released. "I will remember you this way, Mom. Rest in love and peace," Williams-Paisley captioned an Instagram post at the time.

For years, Williams-Paisley didn't speak about her mom's condition because her mom didn't want her to. "I'm finally at a point – my mother's finally at a point where I feel like it's OK to talk about it. There was a long time ... that she didn't want us to talk about it, and that was so much a part of the stress of what we were all going through, was that we had to hide it and cover up for her, and protect her pride," Williams-Paisley told Robin Roberts on an episode of "Good Morning America" in 2014 (via ABC News). In the time since, Williams-Paisley has shared some very personal stories about her mom's diagnosis, including when she first started noticing signs that something wasn't right.

In April 2016, Kimberly Williams-Paisley sat down for an interview on "Today," during which she opened up about one of the early signs that something wasn't right with her mom. It was actually at Williams-Paisley's wedding to country star Brad Paisley in 2003 that the family witnessed something off with Linda Williams. "We gave her something to read, and she stood up in front of the congregation and wasn't able to get through the reading, which was very atypical of my mom," Williams-Paisley explained. Although they might not have realized in that very moment what was going on, her symptoms continued getting worse over the next couple of years.

In an article written for Redbook, Williams-Paisley noted that her mom was having trouble writing her own name — and that was cause for immediate concern. From there, doctors ran a series of tests until the diagnosis was confirmed, along with a heartbreaking prognosis that would change the whole family forever. Williams-Paisley said that one of the biggest challenges was explaining to Williams' grandchildren why they couldn't spend time with their grandmother, especially once she became "physically aggressive and abusive, sometimes biting or throwing things." It was around this time that the family made the decision to move Williams into a long-term care facility.

Kimberly Williams-Paisley spent a lot of time thinking about how she could still interact with her mother, who had become a different person over the course of time. "My mom used to be very articulate, and was one of the best listeners in our family. And so communication with her now is very different. She communicates on an emotional level. And music is a very effective way of communicating with her. I was just with her yesterday, and when I sang a song that she knew, her face would light up. When I sang a song she didn't know, it wouldn't," the "Father of the Bride" star said on "Good Morning America." "That's the way of saying, 'Hey, remember those days when we used to, you know' ... It's through a song. 'Remember when we used to sing this?' And that's a way of engaging with her," she added.

In her piece for Redbook, Williams-Paisley shared other examples of how she learned to communicate with her mom given the health barrier. And while it certainly wasn't easy, Williams-Paisley said she "discovered a new way" to interact with her mom and she remains grateful that they both could express love in those special moments.