Bruce Willis has made a rare public appearance to express his gratitude towards the first responders battling the wildfires in Los Angeles.

In a touching Instagram clip, Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, posted a video showing the actor, who is currently dealing with dementia, shaking hands and chatting with law enforcement personnel who are working on the wildfire response.

“Whenever he sees a first responder, Bruce takes every opportunity to show his appreciation with a meaningful handshake and a heartfelt ‘thank you for your service.’ Yesterday was no exception ❤️🤍💙,” Heming Willis shared. Since his dementia diagnosis was revealed in February 2023, Willis has made very few public appearances.

On Thanksgiving Day 2024, the “Die Hard” star’s daughters, Tallulah and Scout Willis, whom he shares with Demi Moore, shared touching photos on Instagram. The images showed Willis, 69, holding a plaque that read “Best Dad Ever” while sitting surrounded by his daughters on a couch.

The sisters, who posted the pictures together, wrote “Grateful” as their caption. Their older sister, Rumer Willis, an actress and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant, was not in the pictures.

In March 2022, the family announced that Willis would step away from acting following his aphasia diagnosis. About a year later, in February 2023, they provided an update on his health, revealing he had been diagnosed with dementia.

A message from the Instagram accounts of Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore, and daughter Rumer stated: “Our family wants to start by expressing our heartfelt gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and incredible stories we have received since we shared Bruce’s initial diagnosis.”

They added: “Since we revealed Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, his condition has advanced, and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (commonly called FTD).”

Frontotemporal dementia is a brain disorder that arises from the degeneration of the brain’s frontal lobe.