Michael J Fox makes heartbreaking admission amid Parkinson's diagnosis
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Michael J Fox
Ben Williams
Featured Image Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Michael J Fox
Michael J Fox has spent much of his career defying expectations, most notably with the Parkinson’s diagnosis he received when he was 29.
The Back to the Future star, now 64, continues to channel the same determination and wit that made him a household name, though he has made one particular tear-jerking admission.
In recent years, he has co-written a new memoir, Future Boy, reflecting on the film that transformed his life, appeared on Apple TV’s Shrinking alongside Harrison Ford, and remained an unwavering advocate for Parkinson’s research through his Michael J. Fox Foundation — which has raised more than $2 billion to date.
Earlier this year, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his tireless efforts to advance understanding of the disease.
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That optimism and persistence have long defined Fox’s public life.
He said to People recently: “I wake up and get the message of what the day is gonna be like, and I try to adjust to it.
“I keep getting new challenges physically, and I get through it. I roll around in a wheelchair a lot, and it took some getting used to.”
More than three decades after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Fox has admitted that he no longer walks regularly due to the risk of serious injury. Years of performing high-energy stunts on set — from somersaulting over co-stars to sliding across car bonnets — have left lasting damage.
He told the Sunday Times: “And that’s [the point] where I break stuff, it’s absolutely incredible the stuff I broke. In a three-year period I broke my elbow, I broke my hand, I got a big infection in my hand and I almost lost my finger.”
The physical toll has forced him to slow down.
He said: “I take it easy now, I don’t walk that much anymore. I can walk but it’s not pretty and it’s a bit dangerous.”
Still, Fox remains focused on what he can achieve rather than what he has lost.
“I see other people’s work, and it makes me think that I might be able to find something that’s for me as an actor and as a writer....And as a parent, husband and friend, I have a lot left to do”, the star shared.
As told by the NHS, Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition that affects movement and coordination. The main symptoms include tremor (involuntary shaking), muscle stiffness, and slowness of movement. Many people also experience balance problems, fatigue, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, and difficulties with memory or concentration.
Other symptoms can include loss of smell, swallowing issues, constipation, and dizziness. The severity and progression of these symptoms vary from person to person, often developing gradually over many years.