Bruce Willis ‘stepping away’ from career after aphasia diagnosis

(WJW) – Bruce Willis, 67, is “stepping away from his career” amid a health battle, his family announced Wednesday.

Willis’ daughter Rumer shared the news to Instagram Wednesday, in a statement on behalf of his family.

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family, we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him,” the statement read.

“This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.

“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that,” the post concluded.

The statement was attributed to Willis’ wife Emma, his ex-wife Demi Moore, and his daughters Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to areas of the brain that produce and process language.

“A person with aphasia can have trouble speaking, reading, writing, and understanding language. Impairment in these abilities can range from mild to very severe (nearly impossible to communicate in any form),” according to the Clinic’s website. “Nearly all patients with aphasia have word-finding difficulties — that is, coming up with the correct name of persons, places, things, or events.”