Michael J. Fox opens up on ‘darkest moment’ since Parkinson’s diagnosis
The Back To The Future actor announced his diagnosis in 1998
Back To The Future star Michael J. Fox has opened up further about the 'darkest moment' he's experienced since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
The 62-year-old actor has been living with Parkinson's for more than two decades after first going public with his diagnosis in 1998.
By being honest about the impacts it's had on his life, Fox has helped raise awareness for the condition which causes unintended or uncontrollable movements.
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In 2020, the actor spoke to People about an ordeal he'd gone through two years earlier, when a noncancerous tumor was growing rapidly on his spine.
He had to undergo an operation to avoid becoming paralysed, but surgeons 'had to be very careful in removing [the tumor] so they wouldn’t do further damage'.
Fox had to learn to walk again after the operation, but he began the road to recovery and believed the worst was behind him.
A few months later, he was preparing to film a cameo in a Spike Lee movie when he fell and badly broke his arm.
“That was definitely my darkest moment," he said.
“I just snapped. I was leaning against the wall in my kitchen, waiting for the ambulance to come, and I felt like, ‘This is as low as it gets for me'."
Fox opened up further about that experience in an interview with Town & Country earlier this month, and looking back now he said the broken arm in 2018 was 'nothing'.
Since then, the actor has broken his other arm and shoulder, smashed his orbital bone and cheek, and broken his hand, leading to an infection.
"I almost lost it,” he said of his hand. “It was a tsunami of misfortune.”
Experiencing falls is not uncommon for the actor nowadays, after living with Parkinson's for so many years, but he's not fearful of his future.
When asked about what scares him, Fox explained: "Anything that would put my family in jeopardy."
As for himself, he continued: “One day I’ll run out of gas. One day I’ll just say, ‘It’s not going to happen. I’m not going out today.’
"If that comes, I’ll allow myself that. I’m 62 years old. Certainly, if I were to pass away tomorrow, it would be premature, but it wouldn’t be unheard of. And so, no, I don’t fear that.”
A couple of years after announcing his diagnosis, Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, with the goal of funding scientists to help find a cure for the disease.
“It seemed straightforward to me,” he explained, adding that the science was 'ahead of the money' when it came to research.
"We just have to throw the money at the right people," he explained.
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Health, Michael J Fox
Emily Brown