Die Hard actor Bruce Willis will be spending Christmas Day surrounded by his loved ones.
The Hollywood legend was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at the start of the year, and has since maintained a low profile. However, his family plan to spend as much time with him as possible this festive period.
The 69-year-old actor stepped away from the spotlight in 2022 when he announced his retirement after his aphasis diagnosis, and a year later he was diagnosed with dementia, reports the Mirror.
The family of The Sixth Sense actor have said that Bruce is now "non-verbal" and the "the joie de vivre is gone", as his wife Emma says there is a lot of "grief and sadness".
Just a few weeks ago, the actor was spotted in public as he smiled and enjoyed a drive around Los Angeles. He rolled down the window and placed his forearm on the ledge while in the Studio City district, wearing a black LA cap and black jacket as he appeared in high spirits as he kept his hands together on the passenger door with his security teams.
Late last year, filmmaker Glenn Gordon Caron told Page Six that the star was "not totally verbal" anymore.
The film creator ,who worked with Bruce in the 80s, spoke to Page Six last year and said: "My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am. He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader - he didn’t want anyone to know that - and he’s not reading now.
"All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he's still Bruce... you're grateful that he's there, but the joie de vivre is gone." He kept in contact with the star and his ex-wife, along with their three children. Caron told the Post that Bruce "now sees life through a screen door".
A source close to the family that his wife Emma, Demi Moore, and three children Rumer, Scout and Tallulah have been spending as much time with him, alongside the younger children Mabel and Evelyn. They told US Weekly: "Bruce has good days and bad days, but in the last two months, there are many more bad days than good.
"This experience has brought the whole family even closer together. No one knows how much time Bruce has left, so they're soaking up every moment they get with him. Bruce has around-the-clock care, but at least one family member is always with him."
Bruce's wife Emma Heming Willis had previously opened up about caring for her husband. She said: "There is grief and sadness, there’s all of that. But you start a new chapter, and that chapter is filled with love, it’s filled with connection, it’s filled with joy and happiness. That’s where we are."
Last year, during the family's Thanksgiving celebrations, Emma posted a throwback photo of the whole family. The picture included her and Bruce's daughters Mable and Evelyn as well as his ex-wife Demi and Rumer, Scout and Tallulah.
Expressing her gratitude for her blended family, she wrote: "I'm grateful and thankful to know this kind of love."
After announcing in March 2022 that Bruce had been diagnosed with the language disorder aphasia, the family later confirmed his condition had progressed to frontotemporal dementia. This disease typically has a life expectancy of six to eight years, though in some cases, it can be as short as two years.
A further source then confirmed that the whole family is so committed to be with Bruce as much as possible that they are pretty much living together.
They said: "They’re all there all the time. Once Bruce was diagnosed, everyone came together to keep his memory of the family intact and to be there as a constant reminder they love him. Everything revolves around him."
Additionally, his daughter Rumer who has always had a close relationship with her dad, reportedly brings her eight-month-old daughter Louetta to spend time with her grandfather. The second source revealed: "Rumer wants to make sure Louetta knows Bruce. She wants him to be actively involved in Louetta’s life. It’s a very special bond.
"Rumer and her sisters love their dad so much. They are very conscious that any day could be his last.”
On Father’s Day, Rumer shared a photo of Bruce holding Louetta to her Instagram account saying: "Papa I’m so lucky to have you and so is Lou."
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Wife Emma continues to dedicate her time caring for her husband, Bruce as he struggles with dementia.
According to The National Institute on Aging, patients that suffer from dementia can experience a number of symptoms including unusual behaviours, emotional problems, trouble communicating, difficulty with work, or difficulty with walking.
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