Bruce Willis diagnosis: Doctor explains frontotemporal dementia
Dr. Daniel Amen spoke with USA TODAY about frontotemporal dementia and what a diagnosis of the incurable disease might look like.
Damien Henderson and Cody Godwin, USA TODAY
Bruce Willis is marking another trip around the sun, and it’s a bittersweet occasion for wife Emma Heming.
Heming, who married Willis in 2009, took to Instagram to share a video compilation of the actor in honor of his 68th birthday Sunday. The compilation featured sweet clips of Willis spending quality time with his loved ones.
“He is pure love. He is so loved. And I’ll be loving him always. Happy Birthday my sweet,” Heming captioned the post. “My birthday wish for Bruce is that you continue to keep him in your prayers and highest vibrations because his sensitive Pisces soul will feel it. Thank you so much for loving and caring for him too.”
Willis’ ex-wife Demi Moore shared her own birthday tribute on Instagram Sunday, posting a video of Willis being sung happy birthday by his family.
“Happy birthday, BW! So glad we could celebrate you today,” Moore wrote. “Love you and love our family. Thank you to everyone for the love and warm wishes — we all feel them.”
Shortly before sharing her birthday post for Willis, Heming posted an emotional update on how she’s been coping with her husband’s recent diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
“I have started the morning by crying, as you can see by my swollen eyes and snotty nose. I just think it’s important that you see all sides of this,” Heming said. “I always get this message where people always tell me, ‘Oh you’re so strong. I don’t know how you do it.’ I’m not given a choice. I wish I was, but I’m also raising two kids in this.”
Heming and Willis share daughters Mabel Ray, 10, and Evelyn Penn, 8. Willis also has three daughters – Rumer, 34, Scout, 31 and Tallulah, 29 – with Moore.
“Sometimes in our lives, we have to put our big girl panties on and get to it, and that’s what I’m doing,” Heming continued. “But I do have times of sadness every day, grief every day, and I’m really feeling it today on his birthday.”
Bruce Willis diagnosed with ‘cruel disease’ frontotemporal dementia, family announces
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.What is it? Causes, symptoms, treatments
Willis’ diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, a brain disorder caused by degeneration of the brain’s frontal lobe, was announced by family members in a joint Instagram post last month. The news came nearly a year after Willis’ family confirmed the movie icon was stepping away from acting due to an aphasia diagnosis.
“Our family wanted to start by expressing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love, support and wonderful stories we have all received since sharing Bruce’s original diagnosis,” the message, posted on the accounts of Heming, Moore and Rumer, stated at the time. “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).”
FTD is a “cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone,” the Willis family wrote in a follow-up statement. It is the most common form of dementia for people under 60, and “getting the diagnosis can take years.”
“Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead,” the statement said. “As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
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Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY
