Bruce Willis and Glenn Gordon Caron.Photo:David Becker/Getty Images; Bennett Raglin/Getty ImagesMoonlightingcreatorGlenn Gordon Caronis commenting onBruce Willis’ condition since hisfrontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosisearlier this year.On Tuesday, the 69-year-old spoke to theNew York Postabout how he tries to visit theDie Hardactor every month.“I’m not always quite that good but I try and I do talk to him and his wife [Emma Heming Willis] and I have a casual relationship with his three older children,” Caron told the outlet. “I have tried very hard to stay in his life.”“The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any morejoie de vivre[joy of living] than he,” the director continued. “He loved life and … just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest.”Caron added that FTD has made Bruce, 68, unable to communicate, explaining that it’s as if “he now sees life through a screen door.” However, he said Bruce does still recognize him when he visits.“My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am,” he said. “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.”“When you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there,” he noted, “but thejoie de vivreis gone.”Bruce Willis.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Last month, Emma appeared ontheTodayshowand shared that she’s not sure if her husband is aware of his health condition.“It’s hard to know,” theMake Time Wellnessfounder, 45, said on the show, alongside Susan Dickinson, head of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD).“What I’m learning is that dementia is hard,” Emma said. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed. It’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say that this is a family disease, it really is.“Frontotemporal dementia is an all-encompassing term for a group of brain disorders that threatens, as the name implies, thefrontal and temporal lobes of the brain. This means that parts of these lobes atrophy.The shrinking of these areas can cause speech issues, emotional problems and changes in personality. Other symptoms can include loss of motor skills including problems walking, swallowing or muscle spasms.Because the disease affects the frontal lobe — which controls self-insight — any understanding that they have changed is often the first thing those diagnosed with FTD lose, Dickinson said onToday. “Other people retain that for a long time,” she explained. “We really don’t know.“Bruce Willis and Emma Heming Willis.Jamie McCarthy/GettyIn fact, there’s a lot medical professionals and researchers are still learning about FTD. “Most doctor’s aren’t familiar with it, so it can take almost 4 years for people to get diagnosed on average,” Dickinson said. Along the way, they approve “many misdiagnoses” including “depression, bipolar disease, Alzheimer’s, or even someone with some of the movement diseases” like “Parkinson’s or ALS.“That appeared to happen to Bruce. In March 2022, his family first publicly revealed that he was stepping away from acting after being diagnosed withaphasia, a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate. But in February, Emma shared that his condition had worsened, and that he had frontotemporal dementia.FTD symptoms tend to get worse over time. Patients typically begin to notice symptoms between 40 - 65 years of age, but it can affect people who are younger. It is the most common form of dementiafor people under 60.Coming to terms with Bruce’s diagnosis was both “the blessing and the curse,” Emma said at the time. One one hand, it was helpful “to sort of finally understand what is happening” she could be “into the acceptance of what is.” But, as she noted, “it doesn’t make it any less painful.““Just being in the acceptance is, and just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce, just makes it a little bit easier,” she said.
Bruce Willis and Glenn Gordon Caron.Photo:David Becker/Getty Images; Bennett Raglin/Getty Images
David Becker/Getty Images; Bennett Raglin/Getty Images
MoonlightingcreatorGlenn Gordon Caronis commenting onBruce Willis’ condition since hisfrontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosisearlier this year.On Tuesday, the 69-year-old spoke to theNew York Postabout how he tries to visit theDie Hardactor every month.“I’m not always quite that good but I try and I do talk to him and his wife [Emma Heming Willis] and I have a casual relationship with his three older children,” Caron told the outlet. “I have tried very hard to stay in his life.”“The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any morejoie de vivre[joy of living] than he,” the director continued. “He loved life and … just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest.”Caron added that FTD has made Bruce, 68, unable to communicate, explaining that it’s as if “he now sees life through a screen door.” However, he said Bruce does still recognize him when he visits.“My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am,” he said. “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.”“When you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there,” he noted, “but thejoie de vivreis gone.”Bruce Willis.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Last month, Emma appeared ontheTodayshowand shared that she’s not sure if her husband is aware of his health condition.“It’s hard to know,” theMake Time Wellnessfounder, 45, said on the show, alongside Susan Dickinson, head of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD).“What I’m learning is that dementia is hard,” Emma said. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed. It’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say that this is a family disease, it really is.“Frontotemporal dementia is an all-encompassing term for a group of brain disorders that threatens, as the name implies, thefrontal and temporal lobes of the brain. This means that parts of these lobes atrophy.The shrinking of these areas can cause speech issues, emotional problems and changes in personality. Other symptoms can include loss of motor skills including problems walking, swallowing or muscle spasms.Because the disease affects the frontal lobe — which controls self-insight — any understanding that they have changed is often the first thing those diagnosed with FTD lose, Dickinson said onToday. “Other people retain that for a long time,” she explained. “We really don’t know.“Bruce Willis and Emma Heming Willis.Jamie McCarthy/GettyIn fact, there’s a lot medical professionals and researchers are still learning about FTD. “Most doctor’s aren’t familiar with it, so it can take almost 4 years for people to get diagnosed on average,” Dickinson said. Along the way, they approve “many misdiagnoses” including “depression, bipolar disease, Alzheimer’s, or even someone with some of the movement diseases” like “Parkinson’s or ALS.“That appeared to happen to Bruce. In March 2022, his family first publicly revealed that he was stepping away from acting after being diagnosed withaphasia, a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate. But in February, Emma shared that his condition had worsened, and that he had frontotemporal dementia.FTD symptoms tend to get worse over time. Patients typically begin to notice symptoms between 40 - 65 years of age, but it can affect people who are younger. It is the most common form of dementiafor people under 60.Coming to terms with Bruce’s diagnosis was both “the blessing and the curse,” Emma said at the time. One one hand, it was helpful “to sort of finally understand what is happening” she could be “into the acceptance of what is.” But, as she noted, “it doesn’t make it any less painful.““Just being in the acceptance is, and just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce, just makes it a little bit easier,” she said.
MoonlightingcreatorGlenn Gordon Caronis commenting onBruce Willis’ condition since hisfrontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosisearlier this year.
On Tuesday, the 69-year-old spoke to theNew York Postabout how he tries to visit theDie Hardactor every month.
“I’m not always quite that good but I try and I do talk to him and his wife [Emma Heming Willis] and I have a casual relationship with his three older children,” Caron told the outlet. “I have tried very hard to stay in his life.”
“The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any morejoie de vivre[joy of living] than he,” the director continued. “He loved life and … just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest.”
Caron added that FTD has made Bruce, 68, unable to communicate, explaining that it’s as if “he now sees life through a screen door.” However, he said Bruce does still recognize him when he visits.
“My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am,” he said. “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.”
“When you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there,” he noted, “but thejoie de vivreis gone.”
Bruce Willis.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Last month, Emma appeared ontheTodayshowand shared that she’s not sure if her husband is aware of his health condition.
“It’s hard to know,” theMake Time Wellnessfounder, 45, said on the show, alongside Susan Dickinson, head of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD).
“What I’m learning is that dementia is hard,” Emma said. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed. It’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say that this is a family disease, it really is.”
Frontotemporal dementia is an all-encompassing term for a group of brain disorders that threatens, as the name implies, thefrontal and temporal lobes of the brain. This means that parts of these lobes atrophy.
The shrinking of these areas can cause speech issues, emotional problems and changes in personality. Other symptoms can include loss of motor skills including problems walking, swallowing or muscle spasms.
Because the disease affects the frontal lobe — which controls self-insight — any understanding that they have changed is often the first thing those diagnosed with FTD lose, Dickinson said onToday. “Other people retain that for a long time,” she explained. “We really don’t know.”
Bruce Willis and Emma Heming Willis.Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
In fact, there’s a lot medical professionals and researchers are still learning about FTD. “Most doctor’s aren’t familiar with it, so it can take almost 4 years for people to get diagnosed on average,” Dickinson said. Along the way, they approve “many misdiagnoses” including “depression, bipolar disease, Alzheimer’s, or even someone with some of the movement diseases” like “Parkinson’s or ALS.”
That appeared to happen to Bruce. In March 2022, his family first publicly revealed that he was stepping away from acting after being diagnosed withaphasia, a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate. But in February, Emma shared that his condition had worsened, and that he had frontotemporal dementia.
FTD symptoms tend to get worse over time. Patients typically begin to notice symptoms between 40 - 65 years of age, but it can affect people who are younger. It is the most common form of dementiafor people under 60.
Coming to terms with Bruce’s diagnosis was both “the blessing and the curse,” Emma said at the time. One one hand, it was helpful “to sort of finally understand what is happening” she could be “into the acceptance of what is.” But, as she noted, “it doesn’t make it any less painful.”
“Just being in the acceptance is, and just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce, just makes it a little bit easier,” she said.
source: people.com
