Bruce Willis' daughter reveals sad new health update
<p>Hollywood icon Bruce Willis’s family has shared a poignant and devastating update about the beloved actor’s health on social media.</p>
<p>Willis, 70, known to millions as the wisecracking hero of <em>Die Hard</em> and <em>Pulp Fiction</em>, has been waging a quiet, painful battle with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) for several years. Now, his family reveals, the star has heartbreakingly lost the ability to speak.</p>
<p>His eldest daughter, Rumer Willis, 36, expressed her sorrow and longing in a deeply emotional tribute posted on Instagram.</p>
<p>“Today is hard,” she wrote on Father's Day. “I feel a deep ache in my chest to talk to you and tell you everything I’m doing and what’s going on in my life. To hug you and ask you about life and your stories and struggles and successes. I wish I asked you more questions while you could still tell me about it all.”</p>
<p>Despite her heartbreak, Rumer shared that she is trying to focus on gratitude. “I can still hold you and hug you and kiss your cheek and rub your head. I can tell you stories. I will be grateful for every moment I have with you. I love you so much dad. Happy Father’s Day.”</p>
<p>Rumer also extended support to others facing similar grief: “Sending love to all those who are in the boat with me or have lost their fathers, to the single mums who are the dads too.”</p>
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<p>Willis’s battle with FTD has been well documented by his family, including ex-wife Demi Moore, 62, and his wife of 16 years, Emma Heming Willis, 46. Together with his children – Rumer, Scout, 33, Tallulah, 31, Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10 – they have united to share his journey, raising awareness about a little-understood disease.</p>
<p>Frontotemporal dementia affects parts of the brain responsible for personality, behaviour and language. Unlike Alzheimer’s, which primarily impacts memory, FTD robs its victims of speech and social functioning – devastating symptoms for someone once celebrated for his charisma and quick wit.</p>
<p>Emma Heming Willis previously reflected on how Bruce’s stutter as a child masked the early signs of his condition. “When he began to experience difficulties with language, it seemed like it was just a part of his stutter,” she told <em>Town and Country</em> magazine. “Never in a million years would I think it would be a form of dementia for someone so young.”</p>
<p>The family has called for greater awareness and research into FTD, describing it as a “cruel disease” and urging the public to focus attention on finding treatments.</p>
<p>“Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others,” the family said. “If he could today, he would want to bring global attention to this disease and help connect those who are also dealing with its devastating effects.”</p>
<p><em>Image: Rumer Willis / Instagram</em></p>