Bruce Willis’s daughter reveals key dementia signs they missed in heartbreaking update
BRUCE Willis's daughter spoke out about the early signs of her dad's dementia, months after the actor's devastating diagnosis was made public.
"I’ve known that something was wrong for a long time," Tallulah Willis shared.
But Bruce's family didn't connect his initial symptoms to anything sinister, the 29-year-old said said in an essay penned for .
The Hollywood legend, 68, quit acting last year after being diagnosed with aphasia - a condition that affects speech and language.
In February, his family revealed that Bruce's aphasia had progressed and that it was a symptom of frontotemporal dementia, which he was also suffering from.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the most common form of dementia in people under 60 and symptoms include personality changes, obsessive behaviour and speaking difficulties.
Read more on Bruce Willis
Meanwhile, aphasia usually occurs after a stroke or injury, according to the NHS, but it can also be the result of a neurological condition that cause the brain and nervous system to become damaged over time, such as .
Tallulah, the daughter of Bruce and his ex-wife Demi Moore, said her dad's symptoms "started out with a kind of vague unresponsiveness, which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: “Speak up! Die Hard messed with Dad’s ears.”
notes that it's common for people suffering with dementia to struggle to follow a conversation, making it "hard to tell what is down to dementia and what is down to hearing loss".
As Bruce's unresponsiveness later 'broadened', Tallulah divulged she 'sometimes took it personally', saying: "I thought he’d lost interest in me."
Most read in Health
“Though this couldn’t have been further from the truth, my adolescent brain tortured itself with some faulty maths: I’m not beautiful enough for my mother, I’m not interesting enough for my father,” she wrote.
Tallulah also opened up about her own health struggles, which coincided with Bruce's decline.
"I admit that I have met Bruce’s decline in recent years with a share of avoidance and denial that I’m not proud of. The truth is that I was too sick myself to handle it.
"For the last four years, I have suffered from anorexia nervosa, which I’ve been reluctant to talk about because, after getting sober at age 20, restricting food has felt like the last vice that I got to hold on to."
Tallulah said a stint in rehab centre in June last year and a diagnosis for Borderline Personality Disorder had allowed her to turn a corner with her own battles and focus on her dad.
She wrote: "In the past I was so afraid of being destroyed by sadness, but finally I feel that I can show up and be relied upon. I can savor that time, hold my dad’s hand, and feel that it’s wonderful."
The 29-year-old added that Bruce still knowns who she is and "lights up" when she enters the room.
But she shared a heartbreaking memory from a friend's wedding in 2021, where she came to the realisation that her dad would never be able to make a speech about her at her own nuptials.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
For the time being, Tallulah said she was making the must of her time with Bruce, taking pictures whenever she saw him and saving every voicemail he left her.
"I find that I’m trying to document, to build a record for the day when he isn’t there to remind me of him and of us," she wrote.
What are the main symptoms of dementia?
Dementia symptoms vary depending on the cause.
Some common symptoms are cognitive changes:
- memory loss, which is usually noticed by a spouse or someone else
- confusion and disorientation, such as not knowing the place or time
But sufferer's might also experience difficulty with:
- communicating or finding words
- following a conversation
- visual and spatial abilities, such as getting lost while driving
- reasoning or problem-solving
- handling complex tasks
- planning and organising
- with coordination and motor functions
Psychological changes are also common, including:
- personality changes
- depression
- anxiety
- inappropriate behaviour
- paranoia
- agitation
- hallucinations
