Michael J. Fox has endured tremendous obstacles in his battle against Parkinson’s disease and has dealt with its aftereffects for a long period.
After being diagnosed with the crippling illness in the early 1990s, the now-retired actor dedicated his life to raising awareness of it and serving as its spokesperson.
In a recent interview, the Back to the Future star discussed his battle with the cancer, acknowledging that it is becoming worse and expressing his doubt that he will survive to reach 80 years old.
The 61-year-old has always presented a positive image despite being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but he has never concealed the negative effects it has had on his health and general wellbeing.
Fox discussed his impending death and how having Parkinson’s disease was “getting tougher” in a recent interview.
“I’m not gonna lie. It’s gettin’ hard, it’s gettin’ harder. It’s gettin’ tougher,” Fox told CBS Sunday Morning anchor Jane Pauley.
“Every day it’s tougher. But, but, that’s, that’s the way it is. I mean, you know, who do I see about that?”
He added that he recently had spinal surgery to remove a tumor that was found on his spine. It was nothing serious, but it affected his gait and sent him tumbling.: “[I] broke this arm, and I broke this arm, I broke this elbow. I broke my face. I broke my hand,” Fox told Pauley.
“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s,” Fox concluded. “I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it. … I’m not gonna be 80. I’m not gonna be 80.”
Fox was diagnosed with a brain disorder in 1991 after he noticed a tremor in his pinkie finger. The actor’s battle with the disorder has come to light again in the run-up to the release of his new documentary, Still, which follows his life over the previous three decades.
As per reports, he admits in the film: “I’m in intense pain. Each tremor is like a seismic jolt.”
He elaborated on the statement in a new interview he said: “It’s not so much pain from the movement, but from the not moving. It’s when you freeze, and in that freezing that not-movement becomes infused with all this energy and it becomes this burning, impending thing that never happens.
“I don’t want to get the violins out. I’ve broken my hand, my elbow, my humerus, my other humerus, my shoulder, my face and some other s— too. And all that stuff is amplified by the electricity of the tremors. So, yes, it hurts a lot. But what you learn is that nobody gives a s—. It’s just life. It doesn’t matter. You suck it up and you move on. And there might be a story to tell in it. But only that. There’s no chit that you can present to a window for a refund.”
Despite his apparent difficulties, Fox never wavered in his resolve to be positive and boldly declared that he was “going nowhere.”
The actor declared his retirement in 2021 due to failing health: “The depression is [not] so deep that I’m going to injure myself.” I always end up thinking, “Well, there are more things in my life to celebrate than to mourn,” at this point. The agony is quite expressive. You can choose to put up with it or not. I’m not leaving, either.
I don’t know about you, but I find Michael J. Fox’s capacity to keep going in the face of adversity to be inspirational. He is definitely a celebrity that one should strive to emulate.
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