Bruce Willis smiles and dons Dodgers cap on drive with bodyguard in LA amid aphasia and dementia battle

Bruce Willis smiled during a Sunday drive in Los Angeles as the actor continues his health battle with aphasia and dementia.

The Pulp Fiction actor, 69, sat in the passenger seat of a black vehicle, wearing a black Los Angeles Dodgers mesh ball cap, as the hometown team holds a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees in the ongoing World Series.

Willis wore a black jacket with a zip-up hood and a white T-shirt on the fall day in Southern California.

The Die Hard star seemed relaxed and in good spirits during the day out.

The Sixth Sense actor is father to five daughters: Mabel Ray, 12, and Evelyn, 10, with wife Emma Heming Willis, 46; and Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30, with ex-wife Demi Moore, 61.

Willis’ outing came less than two weeks after Heming took to Instagram with a throwback photo of himself and Willis, captioning the image, “Taking selfies before they had a name.”

In September, Moore, 61, updated fans on her ex-husband’s health during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, saying that “under the circumstances, he is in a stable place.”

Moore, who was married to Willis from 1987 to 2000, shared how she counseled her children on how to deal with the family’s years-long health crisis.

“What I tell my kids is you meet them where they are,” Moore said in the appearance. “You don’t hold on to who they were or what you want them to be, but who they are in this moment.

‘And from that comes so much beauty, joy, love and sweetness. When I’m in LA I visit every week, and I really cherish the time we all share.”

In an August 22 post on Instagram Stories, Rumer Willis shared a photo of herself holding her father’s hand while answering a question about how the actor is doing amid his health issues.

Rumer said, “He’s great. I love him so much. Thank you.’

In May, Rumer said at the Show today that her father was doing “fine” and bonding with her one-year-old daughter Louetta, who she shares with ex Derek Richard Thomas.

“I actually saw him right before I came out” to New York, she said, and “Lou just started walking a little bit, and she walked up to him, and it was so sweet.”

“It’s so fun because I feel like my dad is the same way: he’s a girl dad, through and through. It almost unlocks that little-kid-girl-dad kind of thing. He’s so sweet to her.’

Rumer said in the appearance that she and her family members have been outspoken about the family’s health problem, hoping to spread awareness to others who are in a similar circumstance.

“Our vulnerability and transparency as a family about what he’s putting me through is so important,” she said, “because if it can have any impact on another family who is struggling with something like this in any way, or bring more attention to the disease in the hope of finding a cure or something that can help someone else, I think that is very important.’

Willis is more than two years away from going public with his health struggles after family members, including his daughters, wife and ex-wife, released a joint statement via Instagram on March 30, 2022, announcing his aphasia diagnosis.

They said the Hollywood icon “has had some health issues and was recently diagnosed with aphasia, which is affecting his cognitive abilities.

“As a result, Bruce is mindfully stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him. This is a very challenging time for our family and we are extremely grateful for your continued love, compassion and support.

They continued, “We are going through this as a strong family unit and wanted to include his fans because we know how much he means to you, just as you mean to him. As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”

The family subsequently issued a statement on February 16, 2023 announcing that Willis had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD), calling it “the most common form of dementia” and noting that “there are currently no treatments for it the disease exists’.

“As Bruce’s condition progresses, we hope that all media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that requires much more awareness and research,” the family said. “Bruce has always believed in using his voice in the world to help others and raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately.

“We know in our hearts that, if he could today, he would respond by bringing global attention and solidarity to those who also face this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.’

The Mayo Clinic defines aphasia as “a condition that affects your ability to communicate” which “can affect your speech, as well as the way you write and understand both spoken and written language.”

The actor’s family has not revealed what caused his battle with aphasia, which has a number of possible causes.

The condition can occur after a head injury or stroke, or can be a precursor to a brain tumor or Alzheimer’s disease. Patients living with the condition are typically treated with speech therapy and taught ways to communicate nonverbally.