Michael J. Fox Opens Up About Living With His Illness And Kind People’s Help: “It’s Been A Struggle, But I’m Happy”

Oct 31, 2022 by apost team

Michael J. Fox continues to inspire people across the globe with Parkinson’s disease, becoming a symbol of hope for everyone going through the same challenges of the health condition.

Fox is a beloved actor who’s been in the spotlight since the 1980s. Despite his tragic Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in the early ’90s, when he was only 29, Fox has had the support of his wife and fellow actress Tracy Pollan.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1961, Fox took an interest in acting early on in his life, and after filming the Canadian sitcom “Leo and Me,” he headed off to Los Angeles in 1979 to make it big. Clearly, the folks in LA could see the potential in him, because before long he was cast as Alex P. Keaton in “Family Ties,” which ran from 1982–1989. 

While he went on to appear in various film and television projects even after his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he admitted that his condition affected his short-term memory.

“I always had a real proficiency for lines and memorization. And I had some extreme situations where the last couple of jobs I did were actually really word-heavy parts. I struggled during both of them,” he told PEOPLE in an interview.

While pop culture fans may know him as the actor who took on the role of Marty from the Back To The Future franchise, those who have followed his career will recognize him more than the characters he played on screen.

For the longest time, Fox has played a huge role in helping raise more than a billion dollars for the foundation he established, the Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson’s Research. He was diagnosed with the disease in 1991.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Fox said he feels humbled to start a game-changing opportunity to help find a cure for Parkinson’s.

“For so long, the patients were the neglected part of the process and it happens in all kinds of disease studies and disease research, that they tend to hurry past the patient to try to find the answer,” he said.

In an interview with NPR, he also recalled what he felt following his diagnosis.  

“It was shocking when I was diagnosed. I was diagnosed completely out of the blue, unexpectedly,” he said.

Then again, he knew he had his wife’s back the moment he told her about his condition.

“And I had made my way shellshocked back to the apartment and met Tracy and told her, admittedly somewhat tearfully, this had been pronounced. And she didn’t blink. I could tell right away she was with me, and she was with me through whatever happened,” he said.

Over the years, Fox has continued to dismiss the stigma that comes with Parkinson’s disease, saying it’s more than what people can see on the outside.  

“People often think of Parkinson’s as a visual thing, but the visuals of it are nothing. On any given day, my hands could be barely shaking or they could be,” he told AARP in an interview in 2021.

“It’s what you can’t see — the lack of an inner gyroscope, of a sense of balance, of peripheral perception. I mean, I’m sailing a ship on stormy seas on the brightest of days,” he added.

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While Fox has maintained a positive outlook in life, it hasn’t always been easy for him as he had to go through different medical procedures since his diagnosis. In 2018, he had to go through surgery to remove a tumor around his spinal cord. Soon after, he experienced a left-arm break.

In an interview with PEOPLE in October 2022, he admitted it worsened over the past two years.

Fox went on to share how the situations he has been in recently – including the injuries – affected his happy attitude.  

“I was never really a cranky guy, but I got very cranky and short with people,” he said.

“I try to nip it in the bud. I always think of these aides who work with me. And I often say to them, ‘Whatever I say, just imagine I said “please” at the beginning and “thank you” at the end. Just take a second and absorb that I might have said that if I was more myself, but I didn’t, so I apologize,’” he added.

In the same interview, Fox shared he eventually realized that he should stop making it about him and that he has his wife and children who love and support him.

“It took me a while to get that it wasn’t just about me,” he said. “If I break my arm, I’m dealing with my broken arm. But if you’re the person who lives with and loves and supports the person with the broken arm, you’ve got to do everything,” he added.

He also said he remains hopeful and that he wishes people would do the same.

“It’s been a struggle, but I’m happy,” he remarked. “I say that because I hope on some level people can find happiness in spite of what they’re going through.”

What can you say about Michael J. Fox’s optimism in life? Do you also believe he is an inspiration to many? Let us know your thoughts and pass this on to your family and friends who are fans of Michael J. Fox!