Bruce Willis’s health: His battle with frontotemporal dementia diagnosis and how he’s doing now

• Bruce Willis is known for his roles die hard, pulp fiction And sixth sense,
• In 2022, his family announced that Bruce had been diagnosed with aphasia, a neurological disorder affecting speech.
• The following year, his family announced that his condition had worsened, and that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

Bruce Willis One of the most beloved and famous actors in film and television history. He started his career in the famous comedy drama of the 1980s. moonlightingBefore getting a breakthrough film role in the 1988s die Hard. He showed his comedy talent in this look who’s Talking series, and continued his rise as an action star with the first two die Hard Sequel. After a decline in his career, he returned to the public eye thanks to pulp Fictionas well as 12 Monkeys, The Fifth Element, Armageddon, And sixth senseIn the 2000s and 2010s, he found success as an action star (The Expendables, Red) and as a dramatic/comedian (Looper, Moonrise Kingdom.) Sadly, in the 2020s, his health began to decline and his career began to falter, causing him to appear more frequently in low-budget films.

Sadly, Bruce’s career ended in 2022 when his family made a heartbreaking announcement: he was diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that was affecting his cognitive abilities. A statement shared by his family on social media read, “As a result, and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from a career that has meant so much to him.” emma heming willisformer wife semi-swampand his daughters, Rumer Willis, Tallulah Willis, Scout Willis, Mabel Willis, And Evelyn Willis.

Sadly, a year after the first announcement, the family delivered an update: Bruce was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. “Unfortunately, communication challenges are just one symptom of the illness Bruce faces. “Although it is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the family wrote.

Despite this news, Bruce remained in good spirits. He celebrated his 68th birthday in 2023 with his family, which was a bittersweet moment for some who knew his struggles. As he continues to live his life to the fullest, here’s what we know about his condition.

Bruce Willis Diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia

Bruce Willis’s family first announced that he had been diagnosed with aphasia in a post on March 30, 2022, which was shared across all of his social media accounts. The statement read, “To Bruce’s wonderful supporters, as a family, we wanted to let them know that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which Affecting their cognitive abilities.” “As a result and with much consideration, Bruce is walking away from a career that has meant so much to him.”

“This is a truly challenging time for our family, and we greatly appreciate your continued love, compassion, and support. We’re building on this as a strong family unit and want to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, just like you mean to him. As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up,’ and we plan to do that together,” the statement concluded. It was signed by Bruce’s daughters – Rumer, Tallulah, Scout, Mabel and Evelyn Willis – and his wife, Emma Heming, and ex-wife, Demi Moore.

Aphasia is “a disorder that affects the way you communicate,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “It can affect your speech, as well as the way you write and understand both spoken and written language.” This disorder may be a side effect of a stroke or traumatic brain injury. It may also come on gradually due to a slow-growing brain tumor or “a disease that causes progressive, permanent damage (degenerative)”.

In this condition the person speaks in short or incomplete sentences, uses one word in place of another or one sound in place of another, has difficulty finding words and has difficulty understanding what he has read.

After this announcement, Bruce’s friends and colleagues paid tribute to him. “Bruce and I became good friends when we shared two of our biggest hits together, pulp Fiction And look who’s Talking,” wrote john travolta“Years later, he said to me, ‘John, I just want you to know that when something good happens to you, I feel like it’s happening to me.’ What a generous soul he is. I love you, Bruce.”

“It’s hard to find the right words for someone I’ve always looked up to – first on the big screen, and then by some unexpected stroke of fate,” he wrote. haley joel osmentwho starred with bruce sixth sense“He is a true legend who has enriched the lives of all of us with his unparalleled career spanning nearly half a century. I’m so grateful for what I got to see firsthand, and for the immense work they created for us to enjoy for years to come. I just wanted to express my respect and deep appreciation for Bruce and his family as they move forward with the courage and high spirit that have always defined them.

After the announcement, Bruce enjoyed his life with occasional public appearances. However, in February 2023, his family announced that his condition had worsened.

“As a family, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the outpouring of love and compassion for Bruce over the past ten months. Your generosity of spirit has been tremendous, and we are extremely grateful for it. “For your kindness, and because we know you love Bruce as much as we do, we wanted to give you an update,” the family wrote in a statement published on the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration website.

The statement continued, “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed, and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). “Unfortunately, communication challenges are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. Although it’s painful, it’s a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”

“Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others and raise awareness of important issues, both publicly and privately,” the statement said. We know in our hearts that – if he could today – he would want to respond by bringing global attention and engagement to those who are battling this debilitating disease and how it affects so many people and their families. .

“Bruce has always found joy in life – and he helped everyone he knew to do the same. It means that the world sees that spirit of caring echoes back in them and in all of us. We have been so touched by the love you all have shared for our beloved husband, father and friend during this difficult time. Your continued compassion, understanding and respect will enable us to help Bruce live as full a life as possible,” the statement concluded. It was signed by his family.

What is frontotemporal dementia?

Frontotemporal dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic, is “the umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.” Some of the side effects listed include “increased difficulty using and understanding written and spoken language, such as trouble finding the right words to use in speech or naming objects,” “no longer knowing word meanings,” and ” No longer knowing the word’s meaning.

“FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and that can strike anyone,” Bruce’s family wrote in their 2023 statement. “For people under the age of 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because it can take years to be diagnosed, FTD is more prevalent than we know. There is no cure for this disease today, we hope this reality can change in the coming years. As Bruce’s condition improves, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research. ,

“Ours is just one family that has had a loved one suffer from FTD, and we encourage others experiencing it to seek out the information and support available through FTD (@theaftd, theaftd.org). And for those of you who are fortunate enough not to have any personal experience with FTD, we hope you’ll take the time to learn about it and support FTD’s mission in whatever way you can.

How long has Bruce Willis been sick?

In Bruce’s case, there were some suspicions that he had been struggling with the condition for years before the announcement. Mike Burns, Director of out of deathWrote in an email about how Bruce’s role needed to be reduced. He wrote, “We also need to shorten his dialogue a bit so that there is no monologue etc.” Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles Times It is also reported that “those who have worked with the elder Willis in his recent films note that the actor has been showing signs of decline in recent years. in interview with many times This month, nearly two dozen people who were on set with the actor expressed concern about Willis’ well-being. The unnamed individuals “questioned whether the actor was fully aware of his surroundings on the set,” how he was “struggling with the loss of his mental acuity,” and his “inability to remember his dialogue.”

Lala Kentwhich appeared in hit hardNarrated an incident. “I feel like my life is about to end and then my dad comes in to save the day,” Kent said. TimesBruce had to say a line that would cause the Kents to remain silent before pointing a gun at the villain.

Bruce did not do this and fired the prop gun before saying the line. “Because my back was towards him, I had no idea what was happening behind me. But for the first time, it was like, ‘No big deal, let’s reset,'” she said. The same thing reportedly happened on the second and third takes Los Angeles Times (A crew member stressed that he always made sure everyone was safe and did not come under fire.) Randall EmmettKent’s ex and the film’s producer denied the incident, as did the film’s armourer.

In the essay of May 2023 circulationTallulah revealed that her father’s mental state changed years before she learned of his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis. When she was a teenager (she was 29 when she shared the personal essay), she noticed that her father had no interest in her and sometimes seemed generally unresponsive to what was going on around them. Were. He and his family originally attributed this to “Hollywood hearing loss”.

However, she started taking things to heart and felt that the actor no longer cared about her as he started a new family with Emma. “Later, that unresponsiveness became widespread, and I sometimes took it personally,” she recalled. “He had two children with my stepmother, Emma Heming Willis, and I thought he had lost interest in me. Although this couldn’t be further from the truth, my teenage brain tortured itself with some faulty math: I’m not pretty enough for my mom, I’m not interesting enough for my dad.

How is Bruce Willis doing today?

Bruce Willis turns 68 years old on March 19, 2023. He did this while living among his loved ones. In a video shared on Demi Moore’s Instagram, her family sang “Happy Birthday” to her. die Hard The actor was smiling while conducting this chorus. “Just like that,” he said. When it came time to blow out her birthday candle, she also took out a fake candle.

“So today is my husband’s birthday. I have started…