Bruce Willis faces ‘really difficult times’ with aphasia, says pal Sylvester Stallone
Actor and humanitarian Bruce Willis has described the challenges of living with aphasia, which has destroyed his speech ability and caused him to go into a “really difficult period”.
The Oscar-nominated actor also revealed that he’s not surprised that a condition that’s passed him by has taken him around the world: “I really thought I had a normal life and I had a normal life in the sense that I played the game.”
He added: “I was very lucky – in fact, I was really unlucky at the end of my career and I really didn’t realise how lucky I was. I’ve got a really bad case of aphasia – a language disorder – and I’ve been through it 10 times. The best thing is, I’m so fortunate that I’ve had so many great friends.
“I’m not surprised, for instance, to find that I have a little bit of a following of people who are speaking out about it in a good way. But, at the end of the day, the fact that I’ve been with the same team for six, seven years now is pretty extraordinary. So it’s like a miracle.”
In his own words, Willis revealed that for the last two decades he’s been plagued with the condition that has left him unable to speak, even on the phone and on video chats, and that he’s been forced to rely on his team at aphasia charity the Aphasia Foundation of America for assistance.
Watch a video of Willis’ full address below:
Willis, 69, said his mother died in May when he was seven, and that his sister moved to California to live with him when he was eight. He was diagnosed with aphasia when he was 16.
He said he was then encouraged to pursue a career in the arts and that he was encouraged to perform with other actors and that he began to learn and perform the alphabet
