Bruce Willis' family is hoping for a Christmas 'miracle' as they plan celebration amid dementia battle

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Bruce Willis' family are planning for a special Christmas celebration, even as he continues to struggle with frontotemporal dementia.

The 69-year-old action film legend — whose family revealed his diagnosis in 2023 — has been surrounded by his family in recent months, including his wife Emma Heming and their daughters Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, and his ex-wife Demi Moore, 62, and their daughters Rumer, 36; Scout, 33; and Tallulah, 30.

The blended family are now joining together and 'planning to make this Christmas extra special,' a source told In Touch.

The source noted that Bruce's loved ones are still 'praying for a miracle' and hoping that a 'cure for the disease' could be discovered in his lifetime.

But at the moment, they are 'mostly focused on spending quality time with him while they still can,' the source added. 'At this point, every second of connection with him is special.'

In recent years, Bruce's family have shown that Christmas is a time for all of them to bond and get cozy.

Bruce Willis' family are planning for a special Christmas celebration , even as he continues to struggle with frontotemporal dementia

The blended family are now joining together and 'planning to make this Christmas extra special,' a source told In Touch. They added that the family is 'hoping for a miracle' for Bruce

Last year, Demi shared some adorable photos of the clan as they celebrated Christmas in matching pink pajamas.

However, Bruce didn't appear to have joined in that particular celebration.

He was definitely game for the matching pajamas, though, as he demonstrated in 2020, early on in the coronavirus pandemic.

At the time, the Die Hard star was quarantining with his ex-wife and older daughters at the Idaho home where they had raised their children prior to their divorce, which was finalized in 2000.

The whole gang had posed in green-and-white striped PJs as they lived it up indoors, though they were together earlier in the year.

This year, Bruce will be having a get-together with his entire blended family, including his current wife and two youngest daughters and Demi and their three older daughters, In Touch's source said.

'They’ll listen to music and look at old photos and videos. They love coming together as a family,' they said.

Some divorce couples might be surprised to see the Moonrise Kingdom star and his ex-wife hanging out so much, but Demi opened up years ago about their strengthened connection.

But at the moment, they are 'mostly focused on spending quality time with him while they still can,' the source added. 'At this point, every second of connection with him is special'

The source said Bruce will be celebrating Christmas with his ex-wife Demi Moore and their daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, as well as his current wife Emma Heming and their daughter Mabel and Evelyn

Bruce has regular gotten cozy with his entire blended family, with celebrations including matching pajamas. In April 2020 he quarantined with Demi and their children at their former family home in Idaho during the coronavirus pandemic

She opined that she was 'more connected than ever' with her ex in a passage from her 2019 memoir Inside Out, via In Touch.

It helps that she and Emma seem to have a solid friendship, and Demi has been a welcome source of support as Bruce has required more care due to his dementia diagnosis and accompany aphasia, which has reportedly left him unable to speak.

According to the source, Demi 'made a promise to Bruce that she’ll always be there to support Emma and all of his girls.'

Emma regularly shares romantic photos with her husband from happier times, but she has also become a stirring advocate raising awareness about frontotemporal dementia.

The source add that she and the rest of the 'family will continue posting videos and photos' with Bruce ahead of Christmas.

They'll also be celebrating the Hollywood icon not long after in March, when he will celebrate his 70th birthday.

According to the insider, his family hopes their upbeat posts focusing on the connections they still have with him will 'serve as a touching message from Bruce to his fans — that he’ll always find joy in his life, even now.'

Bruce's career came to a screeching halt in March of 2022, when his family announced in a joint statement that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition which affects the parts of the brain responsible for speech recognition and production.

According to the source, Demi 'made a promise to Bruce that she’ll always be there to support Emma and all of his girls.' Emma regularly posts sweet photos with Bruce while raising awareness about frontotemporal dementia

Earlier in December, Demi gave an emotional update on Bruce's condition while appearing on CNN, saying he was in a 'stable place at the moment'; seen in 2018 in LA

In recent years, Willis' roles in major films had dwindled, and he primarily appeared in low-budget direct-to-video action films, many of which he had supporting roles in despite receiving top billing, or in which he had the titular lead role yet was absent for large chunks of the films.

Despite his incredible productivity — including an amazing 12 films released in 2022 — reports emerged after his aphasia diagnosis suggesting he was sometimes confused and potentially in dangerous situations on his final films.

He also reported required someone to feed him his lines via an earpiece as his aphasia symptoms worsened.

Aphasia is typically a symptom of more significant cognitive issues, and the other shoe dropped in February of 2023, when his family announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

The condition affects the frontal parts of the brain, and can affect language abilities, problem-solving skills, planning and emotions.

Suffers of the disease can also have a noticeable change in behavior.

Earlier in December, Demi gave an emotional update on Bruce's condition while appearing on CNN.

She announced that he was 'in a very stable place at the moment,' though she admitted it had been 'very difficult' to watch his health deteriorate over time: '[It's] not what I would wish upon anyone.'

'There is great loss, but there is also great beauty and gifts that can come from it,' sh. added.

Bruce and Demi were married in 1987, and they later separated in 1998, before jointly filing for divorce in 2000.

He and Emma later tied the knot in 2009.

WHAT IS FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA?

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) affects the lobes of the brain behind the forehead, which deal with behaviour, problem-solving, planning and emotions.

The left temporal lobe is involved in the meaning of words and the names of objects.

The right recognises faces and familiar objects.

FTD occurs when nerve cells in these lobes die and the pathways that connect them change.

Symptoms are different from just the memory loss that is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

These may include:

Personality changes, such as becoming tactless, uninterested in others and unsympathetic
Repeated and compulsive movements, such as continued use of certain phrases, hoarding and obsession over timekeeping
Craving unhealthy food and forgetting table manners
Speaking difficulties, including slow speech, grammatical errors and asking the meaning of familiar words like 'bread'

FTD is rare, making up less than five per cent of all dementia cases.

However, it is one of the most common forms of the disease in people under 65.

Sufferers are usually aged between 45 and 65 at diagnosis.

The rate at which FTD progresses varies greatly, with life expectancies ranging from two years to more than 10 after diagnosis.

As it progresses and more of the brain becomes damaged, symptoms often become similar to those in the late stage of Alzheimer's.

These may include memory loss and patients relying on others to care for them.

Around 10-to-20 per cent of FTD patients also have a motor disorder that affects their movement.

This can lead to twitching, stiffness, slowed movement and loss of balance or co-ordination.

In later stages, such patients may have difficulty swallowing.

Around one-third of FTD patients have a family history of dementia.

And the condition is often caused by an inherited faulty gene from one of a patient's parents.

Treatment focuses on helping a person live well by easing their symptoms.