Actor Michael J. Fox, known best for his lead in the Back to the Future trilogy as well as his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, candidly opened up about the reality of the affliction’s progression. Fox made the comments while appearing on CBS Sunday Morning.
“[Parkinson’s] banging on the door… I’m not going to lie, it’s getting hard. It’s getting harder. It’s getting tougher. Every day it’s tougher … that’s the way it is. I mean, you know, who do I see about that?” Fox said honestly, as recorded by Fox News.
As he continued, he said he doubted he would reach 80. Still, though, the actor-turned-spokesperson remains just 61 years old, remarkably young considering how long he has been in the public spotlight and even more amazing considering how long he has battled the wretched disease.
Fox was just 29 years old when first diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder that often impacts motor function and cognition.
“My life is set up so … I can pack Parkinson’s along with me if I have to,” Fox continued, suggesting he had made peace with his condition and the outlook it provided\.
“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s … I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it.… I’m not going to be 80. I’m not going to be 80,” he added.
Fox then shared how his reduced motor control had led to a series of injuries and surgeries.
“I had spinal surgery. I had a tumor on my spine … it was benign, but it messed up my walking … then, started to break stuff … broke this arm, and I broke this arm, I broke this elbow. I broke my face. I broke my hand,” he continued to tell the media outlet.
A few months back, Fox made an appearance at Utah’s Sundance Film Festival where he discussed in front of a panel and audience the ongoing research related to curing the disease that has dominated most of his adult life. He spoke specifically about being recognized for having raised over $2 billion meant for research.
“That number, as impressive as it is, kind of in a way pisses me off, because I thought that we’d be done with it by now,” Fox said of the pursuit of treatments and a cure. “But science is hard.”
But he wasn’t all doom and gloom. Fox acknowledged progress has been made and will continue to be made in the future.
“Sh– yeah,” he said. “That would be great. Just get it done. I don’t care if I’m on the bus.”
The American Tribune previously recalled that Fox’s career began as almost an afterthought, as he was not originally cast to portray Marty McFly in the hit film series Back to the Future. In fact, shooting had already wrapped up with another actor when he got recast.
The American Tribune wrote:
Few people now know or remember that Fox was never supposed to be the star of the blockbuster series that launched his career into the stratosphere. The Robert Zemeckis-directed movie initially starred Eric Stoltz and had essentially wrapped up filming before Fox was added to the set.
Zemeckis screened early versions and was displeased with how the lead actor portrayed his vision of Marty McFly. And the rest is history.
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