LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Michael J Fox is the man of the moment now. As Fox’s documentary, ‘Still: A Michael J Fox Movie’ is gearing up for a May 12 release on Apple TV+, the ‘Teen Wolf’ actor opened up about his struggle with Parkinson’s Disease with which he was diagnosed when he was just 29 years old. Fox, 61, revealed that as an effect of the motor disease, he broke several of his bones but is optimistic that he “won’t break as many bones tomorrow.”
“I broke this shoulder — had it replaced. I broke this elbow. I broke this hand,” shared the ‘Stuart Little’ star in an interview with Variety. He further added pointing towards his broken bones, “I had an infection that almost cost me this finger. I broke my face. I broke this humerus.” His takeaway from all the accidents was, “And that sucked.”
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Fox wasn’t just having a debilitating time physically, but also mentally. Apart from the numerous accidents that caused his broken bones, he was also admitted to the hospital in 2018 to remove a tumor from his spinal cord. Apart from this, he has also been coping with the losses of close family members including his mother and father-in-law. Fox also had to let go of his privacy as he always has “aides” around him to ensure he doesn’t fall anymore. As the ‘Family Ties’ star said, “I have aides around me quite a bit of the time in case I fall, and that lack of privacy is hard to deal with.”
While he doesn’t specifically want to use the term “depression”, he feels that “all the signs” of the despondent mental condition “were there,” as he was quoted, “I lost family members, I lost my dog, I lost freedom, I lost health. I hesitate to use the term ‘depression’, because I’m not qualified to diagnose myself, but all the signs were there.”
‘My family pulled me out’
However, his family was always there as his support. His wife of 35 years, Tracy Pollan, and their four children were always by Fox’s side. On being asked how he coped with everything, the ‘Spin City’ star’s reply was “My family. . . My family pulled me out.”
Michael J Fox is a classical study of perseverance, integrity, and optimism. He has emerged victorious not once, not twice but numerous times against the face of adversities. Hailing from British Columbia in Canada, he has been successful in carving his own niche. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he has been told that only 10 years of his acting career is left. However, his indomitable spirit could not conform to the mandate and Fox continued with his glorious career until he retired from acting in 2020.
Still, he draws enjoyment from life’s little things, “I’m still happy to join the day and be a part of things,” the ‘Designated Survivor’ star said before adding, “I just enjoy the little math problems of existence. I love waking up and figuring that stuff out and at the same time being with my family.”
'That’s being optimistic'
The father-of-four is also well aware of his limitations as he said, “My problem is I fall down. I trip over things and fall down and break things. And that’s part of having this.” but his optimism doesn’t let him accept defeat, “But I hope that, and I feel that, I won’t break as many bones tomorrow. So that’s being optimistic.”
‘Life is interesting’
Earlier in October 2022, he opened up about his tendency to trip over. The ‘Back to the Future’ star said, “I'm 61 years old, and I'm feeling it a little bit more,” before adding, "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,” reports Fox News.
In his interview with People, he further added, "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'."
However, he has been past the worst phase as he said, "I'm coming through where the last of my injuries are healing up; my arm is feeling good," before adding, "Life is interesting. It deals you these things." He also found out the means to navigate the murky waters, as he said, "The whole mission is: Don't fall down. So whatever works to not fall down, whether it's a walker or a wheelchair, a cane, a guy with a belt around my waist holding onto it — I use all those tools."
