My heart goes out to the family of Bruce Willis.
My brother, Kelly Nolte, died in 2008 of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), also sometimes referred to as Pick's Disease. He was 55 years old. At the time, we were told that it was extremely rare. When Kelly was first diagnosed, pretty much no one had even heard of FTD before or had any idea how to treat it. In fact, in our two and a half years of searching for information, we met ONE medical professional - an intern in a hospital, who had read about it while researching dementia, but it was only on a list of types of dementia. The internet shed little information about FTD in 2006. My family wound up knowing more than the doctors at the time.
We went through treatments that were not recommended for dementia patients - as an example, one doctor prescribed anti-depressants for him, which is one of the worst things you can do. Luckily, our mother, in her mid 70's at the time, read through everything she could find, including the warnings on the anti-depressant materials, that clearly stated NOT to give it to a dementia patient.
I still keep up on news about FTD and saw an article a couple of years ago that said it was the most common in people aged 35 - 55 now being diagnosed with dementia. Recently, another article said it is now the most common in another age bracket. I tried for quite sometime on this blog to raise awareness and raise money for FTD research, but it never went anywhere because people were more focused on Alzheimer's.
The only blessing of FTD is that it is a very aggressive form of dementia and is quick to snatch it's victims - you will not have to watch your loved one suffer for the next 30 years, as is possible with other forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's. There is nothing you can do, and you are going to literally watch your loved one turn into a vegetable - please don't think me cruel to say that, but I want you to understand that it will be a blessing when it's over.
Now, I want to say, if you are reading this, whatever age you are, please become involved in some way to help as it seems this can take you or someone you love at any time, with absolutely NO warning.
Please help. In the fast few years, a few organizations have come up with a focus on FTD. The only one I found all those years ago was The Association for Frontotemporal Dementia. Donate, volunteer, make other people aware. As sorry as I am that that a celebrity has now been diagnosed with FTD, people will become aware, and maybe research will be able to progress. Bruce Willis will become the hero of FTD victims for making the world know it exists and how devastating it can be to your family.
It seems ironic that I am writing and posting this on what would have been Kelly's 70th birthday. It will be 15 years since his passing in November this year. He was such a vibrant, imaginative person, the world really lost someone special. Please click on "Remembering Kelly" on the navigation bar above to read a short bio.
To the Willis family: Bruce isn't going to get better. But your memories of him will always be there.
Thanks for stopping by.
