Bruce Willis holds on tightly to his daughter Scout Willis’ hand as he spends Thanksgiving with his family amid his dementia battle
Bruce Willis held tight to his daughter Scout Willis’ hand as he spent Thanksgiving with his entire family on Thursday.
It was a poignant moment for fans of the actor, 68, after he retired from Hollywood and his family announced in March last year that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
It is a rare form of dementia that causes a decline in behavior, personality and language.
Scout, 32, posted a video of her and her father holding hands to her Instagram Story and captioned it “my husband.”
In the video, Scout extends a hand to Bruce and he looks down for a moment before sliding his on top of it, bringing a big smile from Scout.
Family time: Bruce Willis, 68, held tightly the hand of his daughter Scout Willis, 32, while spending Thanksgiving with his entire blended family on Thursday
Daddy’s girl: Scout then posted a photo of herself from the same day, sweetly and gently resting her head on Bruce’s hand
Scout then posted a photo of herself from the same day, sweet and soft as she rested her head on Bruce’s hand.
She wore a white floral short-sleeved top with puff sleeves, while Bruce opted for a long-sleeved sports shirt and a gray hat.
Bruce has four other daughters: Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, nine, whom he had with Emma, plus Rumer, 35, and Tallulah, 29, with first wife Demi Moore.
All of his children and both of his wives have backed Bruce in diagnosing the movie star with dementia.
They were also all pictured with him in Emma’s flashback snap, along with Scout’s friend Jake Miller and Rumer’s friend Derek Richard Thomas.
At the time the photo was taken, Rumer was apparently still pregnant with her and Derek’s daughter Louetta, whom she gave birth to in April.
“I’m grateful and grateful to know this kind of love,” Emma wrote in a caption full of heart emojis. “I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.”
Just three days earlier, Rumer touchingly posted a throwback to herself as a little girl in Bruce’s arms, writing, “Really missing my daddy today.”
Her post came about a month after a heartbreaking update from one of Bruce’s longtime friends about the state of his dementia decline.
Glenn Gordon Caron, who created Bruce’s ’80s sitcom Moonlighting, shared his experiences visiting the movie star during his illness.
Happy: She wore a white floral short-sleeved top with puffed sleeves, while Bruce opted for a long-sleeved sports shirt and a gray hat
Throwback: Bruce is pictured with his ex-wife Demi Moore, his wife Emma Heming and his daughters Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn, plus Rumer and Scout’s boyfriends
Baby Mine: At the time the photo was taken, Rumer was apparently still pregnant with her and Derek’s daughter Louetta, whom she gave birth to in April
Sweet: Rumer also shared a sweet photo of her little one on Thanksgiving with the caption, “Grateful”
Nostalgia: Just three days earlier, Rumer touchingly posted a return of himself as a little girl in Bruce’s arms, writing, “I really miss my daddy today.”
Health struggles: Emma (2nd from right) has continued to share updates on his battle with dementia and aphasia, and the difficulties of being a caregiver; seen in 2019 in LA
“My feeling is that he knows who I am within the first minute or three,” Glenn said in his devastating interview with Page six. “He’s not completely verbal; he was a voracious reader – he didn’t want anyone to know that – and he doesn’t read anymore.’
Glenn, who also created the show Medium, revealed: “All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce.”
He added: ‘When you’re with him you know he’s Bruce and you’re grateful he’s there, but the zest for life is gone.’
Last year, Bruce retired from showbiz due to his battle with the brain disorder aphasia, which causes the patient’s language skills to deteriorate.
In March, his family announced that his illness had “worsened” and that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Since Bruce’s battle with aphasia began, Glenn has apparently tried to visit him monthly, but not always with success.
“I’m not always that good,” the television writer admitted, “but I try and I do talk to him and his wife and I have a casual relationship with his three older children. I tried very hard to stay in his life.’
Glenn shared, “The thing that makes [his disease] It’s so mind-boggling that if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there’s no one who has had more zest for life than him.”
Bruce “just loved waking up every morning and trying to live life to the fullest,” but now he lives as if he’s “seeing life through a screen door.”