Amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, Bruce Willis was seen thanking first responders in what appears to be the actor’s first public sighting since revealing his diagnosis with aphasia in 2022 and dementia the following year.
Wife Emma Heming Willis on Thursday shared a black-and-white Instagram Reel of the 69-year-old “Die Hard” star shaking hands with emergency workers.
“Spotting a first responder, Bruce never missed a chance to show his gratitude with a heartfelt handshake and a ‘thank you for your service.’ Yesterday was no different,” Heming Willis, 46, said of her husband.
In early 2022, Heming Willis, along with the “Pulp Fiction” star’s ex-wife Demi Moore and their three adult daughters — Rumer, Scout and Tallulah — announced in a statement that Willis was “stepping away” from acting due to aphasia, a brain disorder that affects the ability to communicate.
Nearly a year later, the family confirmed Willis had ultimately been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a group of diseases that affect the areas of the brain associated with personality, behavior and language.
In late 2023, Tallulah, 30, said on “The Drew Barrymore Show” that the family wanted to raise awareness for the “very rare” disease.
Late last year, Heming Willis said that FTD is often “misdiagnosed, it’s missed, it’s misunderstood,” and that she herself dismissed early signs of her husband’s condition, initially believing that changes in his speech were merely part of his childhood stutter.
“Never in a million years would I think it would be a form of dementia for someone so young,” said the model and actress, who shares daughters Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, with Willis.
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