Bruce Willis' family missed early sign of dementia that 'chipped away' at him
Bruce Willis' daughter Tallulah Willis has shared her heartbreak as she admitted her family missed the early signs of her father's dementia.
It was announced earlier this year that the 68-year-old actor - best known for his role in the Die Hard film series - had been diagnosed with dementia. It came following the news that he'd previously been diagnosed with aphasia.
Tallulah, who Bruce shares with his ex-wife Demi Moore, revealed she knew "something was wrong" with her dad after he started showing signs of "vague unresponsiveness". However, she had no idea it was related to dementia.
Instead, the 29-year-old said her family simply put Bruce's unresponsiveness down to his career. Tallulah explained that they believed time spent on film sets had affected his hearing.
Bruce Willis' with his daughter Tallulah Willis wrote about her father's health in an essay (@buuski/Instagram)Tallulah said: "My family announced in early 2022 that Bruce Willis was suffering from aphasia, a brain-mediated inability to speak or to understand speech, and we learned earlier this year that that symptom was a feature of frontotemporal dementia, a progressive neurological disorder that chips away at his cognition and behaviour day by day."
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In an essay written for Vogue, Tallulah said the "unresponsiveness broadened" later on. Tallulah said she "took it personally" and thought he'd "lost interest" in her, now that he had two younger children with her step-mother, Emma Hemming Willis.
Tallulah added that she had met her father's "decline" with some "avoidance and denial" in recent years. She suggested that it had been due to experiences in her own life, including her having been experiencing anorexia nervosa.
Bruce's family have issued updates about his health over the last year (Getty Images for goop)Bruce's family issued a statement last year in which they said that he'd been diagnosed with the medical condition aphasia, adding that it was "impacting his cognitive abilities". It was also announced that he would be retiring from acting.
His family, especially his wife Emma, have raised awareness around both conditions. She regularly provides fans with updates on social media about Bruce's condition.
An update was subsequently provided in February this year, in which it was announced that Bruce's condition had "progressed" and that he had since been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which is known as FTD.
Frontotemporal dementia "causes problems with behaviour and language", according to the NHS. Like other forms of dementia, it typically develops slowly and gradually progresses over years. There are several symptoms of the condition, including personality and behaviour changes.
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