With Bruce Willis's status, his diagnosis has indeed made more people pay attention to the brain disease of Frontotemporal dementia.
Text | Sister Bing
Recently, the family of Bruce Willis, a famous Hollywood tough guy star, released a joint statement, saying that Bruce Willis, who was diagnosed with aphasia in March last year, has further deteriorated this year.
In the joint statement issued by Willis' wife Emma Hemingway, ex-wife Demi Moore and children, they thanked Willis's friends who cared about his illness and expressed their love, saying that although the condition was painful, it was also a relief to have a clear diagnosis.
"Since we announced Bruce's diagnosis of aphasia in the spring of 2022, Bruce's condition has now progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontal lobe brain atrophy," they said in the statement. Unfortunately, communication challenges are just one symptom of Bruce's face. While it's sad, it's reassuring that we finally have a clear diagnosis. ”
Although there is a clearer diagnosis, this is undoubtedly sad and helpless news.
"Today, there is no cure for this disease, and we hope that will change in the next few years." As Bruce's disease progresses, we hope that media attention will be focused on the disease, which needs more awareness and research. They said in the statement.
With Bruce Willis's status, his diagnosis has indeed made more people pay attention to the brain disease of Frontotemporal dementia.
This disease is different from the well-known Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer's disease), frontotemporal lobe atrophy mainly affects the patient's personality and language/behavioral ability, the impact on memory is relatively small, the patient will gradually lose the ability to act, or even unable to eat, and eventually become another person died in silence...
Judging by the statement released by Bruce Willis' family, he has lost his ability to advocate for the disease. An important feature of developing this disease is the deterioration of language skills. In addition, patients may experience symptoms such as muscle wasting, difficulty chewing and swallowing, a great change in temperament, and inability to socialize.
His wife, Emma, mentioned on social media last August that she felt "paralyzing grief" because of her husband's illness. This shows how bad the 68-year-old Bruce has become.
A generation of Hollywood tough guys finally had to go to the end of their lives in silence, which is really embarrassing.
The golden age of Hollywood tough guys
In 1985, Bruce Willis, who debuted from Broadway, received the opportunity to star in the TV series "Blue Moonlight", playing a supreme and capable detective in the play, and became popular.
However, what made him popular was the classic action movie "Die Hard" series.
Die Hard poster
In 1988, "Die Hard" was released. "The lone detective who can't die" has since become one of his most famous labels, establishing his superaction star status. He also relied on the role of John McAllen to successfully enter the Hollywood first-line male star club, red foot for 30 years.
Of course, in addition to being able to play, his drama path is broad, his acting skills are also good, and his masterpieces are also one after another.
In 1995, he starred with Brad Pitt in the sci-fi film "12 Monkeys", which was nominated for Best Actor at the 22nd Saturn Awards;
In 1997, he co-starred with Milla Jovovich in Luc Besson's classic sci-fi film "The Fifth Element", which surprised everyone;
In 1998, he broke through the tough guy image and played the role of an oil driller and a warm father who saved the world in "Armageddon" directed by Michael Bay;
In 1999, he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actor for the fourth time for starring in the supernatural movie "The Sixth Sense";
In 2010, he joined "The Expendables" and completed the screen reunion of three action tough guys with Stallone and Schwarzenegger, and carried out a bunch of old tough guy movies to the end. Seeing a group of uncles rushing left and right in the rain of bullets, I really have a feeling of grandpa Qinghui.
In 2006, Bruce Willis became the 2321st star to remain on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2007, Bruce Willis topped the list of the 20 best police officers in film history by the authoritative British magazine "TotalFilm".
The 25 action heroes in film history selected by the American "Entertainment Weekly", he also won the king with high votes.
The hero ends
It is a pity that no matter how advanced Hollywood's technology is, it cannot reproduce the heroic style of the hero.
The film and television industry noticed three years ago that Bruce Willis was no longer what he used to be, and he needed a personal assistant to take care of him on the set to maintain his image in front of the camera. When filming, it is necessary to hire a full-time actor to speak for him through hidden headphones to avoid frequently forgetting words.
"Hard Kill", released in 2020, reduced Bruce Willis's scene to seven minutes, and there was a vicious incident of gun misfire on the set, so that when Willis had a gun in his hand, no one dared to stand on the opposite side. "Out of Death", released in 2021, significantly cuts the footage and dialogue involving Bruce Willis and ensures that he does not read any monologues. Willis could only last two days on set and could not work more than four hours a day.
Bruce Willis farewell to "Soul Assassination Order"
Bruce's new film "Detective Knight 3: Independence" has just been released on January 20, and "Soul Assassination Order" released on March 31 should be his last work. And look at it and cherish it.
Alzheimer's, and them...
In a way, Bruce Willis is still very lucky. Although he has been suffering from illness, his family has always been by his side.
Ex-wife Demi Moore and current Emma also get along harmoniously, and the family often gathers together.
Just half a year after Bruce Willis was revealed to have aphasia last year, Thor actor Chris Hemsworth ("Hai Zong") also disclosed that he had Alzheimer's-related gene chromosomes and decided to leave the film industry to accompany his family.
Mr. Hai said that his parents both had chromosomes of the gene, and his grandfather was still a confirmed case, and his chances of suffering from the disease were eight to ten times higher than those of ordinary people, so he decided to temporarily leave his job and go home to accompany his wife and children. Compared with these two, the fate of Robin Williams, another Hollywood superstar who has died, seems to be a bit tragic. Before his death, he suffered from dementia-related symptoms such as insomnia, depression, hand tremors, hallucinations, inability to memorize lines, constipation, urinary tract infections and more.
On August 11, 2014, Robin, who starred in "Dead Poets Society", "Mind Catcher" and "Museum Night", hanged himself. Everyone thought he committed suicide because of depression.
Later, his widow, Susan, announced the true cause of her late husband's death. Before Robin's death, his various blood tests and brain scans could not confirm the specific disease, and he was misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. After an autopsy, doctors discovered that Robin had Lewy body dementia.
The report showed that Robin's brain lost 40% of dopamine neurons, most of which were invaded by Lewy bodies, the worst pathology autopsy doctors have seen. However, because this dementia symptom is clinically and pathologically overlapping with Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, it is difficult to diagnose immediately.
Doctors say his brain is like a battlefield.
In the blink of an eye, Robin has been dead for nearly a decade, and doctors are still helpless about such conditions.
It is hoped that the experiences of superstars will raise people's awareness of such diseases, attract enough attention in the early stages of the disease, and doctors can find a cure as soon as possible.
May they be accompanied by those who love him in this long farewell.