Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Michael J Fox, Health
Rashi Agarwal
Michael J. Fox has opened up about breaking several bones and almost losing a finger because of his Parkinson's disease.
The 61-year-old actor was diagnosed with the disease in 1991 at the age of 29.
Fox was recently spotted with his long-term friend, Meg Ryan for a special screening of his new documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie in New York.
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Watch the trailer below:
The documentary highlights the success stories of his biggest Hollywood movies and how he has come to terms with his diagnosis.
The Back to the Future star has been open about his health struggles and even admitted that he believes that he will not be able to live until 80.
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In a candid interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Fox said life was getting ‘harder’ to cope with every day and revealed that he’d also had surgery to remove a tumour from his spine.
Having said that, Fox has once again given an update about his health and said he almost lost a finger because of the disease.
In a new interview with Variety, he said: “I broke this shoulder - had it replaced. I broke this elbow. I broke this hand. I had an infection that almost cost me this finger. I broke my face. I broke this humerus."
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While pointing out his fractured body parts, he added: “And that sucked.”
Fox's speech has also become impaired in recent years as he noted: "I sometimes have a fleeting moment of disappointment when a really great joke comes out and lands flat because people can’t understand what I’m saying.
“It’s not like you can just repeat it. It’s dead on arrival. But you find ways to navigate it.”
Fox also emphasised the enduring emotional pain of losing his mother, his father-in-law, and his beloved dog, Gus, a 120-pound mutt in the last few years.
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Opening up about the 'first-time' doctors informed him about his diagnosis, Fox 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.
“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."
When asked if he was able to shake it all off, he said he owed it to his loved ones and admitted: “My family. My family pulled me out.”
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Moving forward with an optimistic outlook on his life and an indomitable confidence, Fox said that he owes everything to his wife, Tracy Pollan, who stood by his side like a rock during these challenging years.
“I’m still happy to join the day and be a part of things,” he said.
“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. My problem is I fall down. I trip over things and fall down and break things.
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"And that’s part of having this. But I hope that, and I feel that, I won’t break as many bones tomorrow. So that’s being optimistic.”
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is available to watch on Apple TV+ now.