This is kind of depressing news to me too. I always thought that Brugs survived as long as they were taken care of. I mean, I know everything has a life span, but I figured more than 5 years on this. Heck...I have a Datura that's coming up on 4 years itself and is still a fairly viable container plant.
I just wanted to post that I'm sad for you. It looks like it was a beautiful Brug in it's time. Hope you get lots of cuttings from it and that you have a nice big replacement for it in no time. Best of Luck to you.
Blondmyk