Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with dementia. Photo / @rumerwillis
Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with dementia. Photo / @rumerwillis
Bruce Willis’ daughter Rumer has shared a heartbreaking update about how her father’s dementia diagnosis has impacted her and her family.
Posting an old photo of Willis holding her as a toddler, Rumer wrote: “Really missing my papa today.”
Earlier this year, Willis’ family - including his five daughters, wife, and ex-wife - announced the now 68-year-old was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
According to the Alzheimer’s Society, a lot of friends and family experience grief before their loved one dies due to the progressive and life-shortening nature of the illness.
Often dementia sufferers’ personalities can change and they can at times struggle to maintain the emotional connection they once had with loved ones.
In response to Rumer’s post, her younger sister Tallulah wrote: “Love you sister”.
Rumer’s sad update comes more than a year after Willis stepped away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that impacts the part of the brain that is responsible for expression and comprehension.
Fans of Willis responded to Rumer’s emotional post, with many sharing their own personal experiences of living with loved ones who were diagnosed with dementia.
“With dementia, grief begins so much earlier and lasts longer because you start grieving the loss before they are physically gone,” one commenter wrote.
“My dad had the same kind of dementia as your dear dad. Not hearing him talk and knowing his thoughts was so hard and impacted knowing where he was in the dementia journey. I am sending so many loving thoughts your family’s way.”
One heartbreakingly wrote: “I miss my brother. 47 with dementia and he’s sat right next to me.”
A fourth added: “My dad had frontal temporal dementia too. It’s heavy to mourn a loss while they’re still here (many folks don’t understand that space), the physical loss is a second mourning.”
Earlier this month, Willis’ wife Emma Heming opened up about her personal struggles with her husband’s ailment.
Bruce Willis and wife Emma Heming Willis. Photo / Getty
Her most recent tragic confession comes after the former model revealed that she “struggles with guilt” while caring for her husband.
She told Sunday Paper: “I struggle with guilt, knowing that I have resources that others don’t.”
“When I’m able to get out for a hike to clear my head, it’s not lost on me that not all care partners can do that.
“When what I share about our family’s journey gets press attention, I know that there are many thousands of untold, unheard stories, each of them deserving of compassion and concern.”
Heming – who has daughters Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, 9, with Willis – went on to say that she hopes to continue to “be an advocate” for those navigating similar hurdles.
She added: “I see that what I share matters to others who may be struggling, and in a small way makes them feel seen and understood.
“I want people to know that when I hear from another family affected by FTD, I hear our family’s same story of grief, loss, and immense sadness echoed in theirs…
“It’s important to me to be an advocate on behalf of those families, who don’t have the time, energy or resources to advocate for themselves.”
Heming then revealed that she still has “hope” for Willis, despite his worsening condition.
Emma Heming Willis shared the sweet image in a post about her birthday. Photo / Instagram
She added: “I have so much more hope today than I did after Bruce was first diagnosed.
“I understand this disease more now, and I’m now connected to an incredible community of support. I have hope in having found a new purpose — admittedly one I never would have gone looking for — using the spotlight to help and empower others.”
Willis shot to fame in the 1980s and ‘90s after starring in Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon and Pulp Fiction.
The esteemed actor has also been nominated for five Golden Globes throughout his career - winning one for Moonlighting - and has also been nominated for three Emmys, winning two.
