Michael J. Fox shared a heartbreaking update about his decades-long fight with Parkinson’s disease.
The beloved actor, 64, spoke about how he hopes to say goodbye to this world when the time comes.
It’s been a “tragedy” living with the lifelong illness, he said, reflecting on his decades of struggle.
Michael J. Fox shared a heartbreaking update about his decades-long fight with Parkinson’s disease
Highlights
- Michael J. Fox spoke candidly about living with Parkinson’s disease, a diagnosis he received at the age of 29.
- The 64-year-old actor has a clear vision for how he wants to say goodbye to this world.
- “I don’t want it to be dramatic,” he said.
- He also opened up about his “best friend” and “partner” Tracy Pollan, with whom he tied the knot in 1988.
Image credits: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
After years of inspiring viewers with his inspiration and grit, Michael J. Fox has a vision for his final moments on earth.
He was only 29 years old when he noticed a tremor in his pinky finger while filming Doc Hollywood in 1991.
Since then, he has lived with his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and openly spoken about how the neurodegenerative disorder took over his life.
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
“There’s no timeline, there’s no series of stages that you go through,” he told The Sunday Times in a recent interview, “not in the same way that you would, say, with prostate cancer. It’s much more mysterious and enigmatic.”
The Family Ties star acknowledged how there aren’t too many people who have lived with a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis for three and a half decades like he has.
He also said he doesn’t want a “dramatic” end, sharing exactly how he wants to pass away.
The 64-year-old actor spoke about how he hopes to say goodbye to this world
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“I’d like to just not wake up one day. That’d be really cool. I don’t want it to be dramatic. I don’t want to trip over furniture, smash my head,” the actor said.
Oftentimes, Parkinson's disease begins with a barely noticeable tremor. The symptoms eventually worsen with time.
The degenerative brain condition leads to slowed movements, tremors, issues with balance, and more.
Image credits: Netflix
Michael spoke about how he continued acting for a while, as his doctor suggested it would help him cope with his condition.
Keeping his illness under wraps, he continued acting in movies like Love or Money, The American President, and Frighteners, even after being diagnosed.
He also picked up several awards before finally going public with his diagnosis.
The actor has spent years dealing with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a diagnosis he received at the age of 29
Image credits: Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Acting “was helpful, to a point,” he said. “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,” he continued.
Image credits: Netflix
The Back to the Future actor revealed that the disease gradually affected his bones as well.
“It’s terrible,” he shared. “I had all these little bones broken, and it got infected, and they had to cut the bones out because the bones got infected.”
He broke a shoulder and cheekbone over the years.
“It has been just like a tragedy,” he added.
“It’s terrible,” the Hollywood star said while listing the parts of his body he has “broken” over the years
Image credits: Good Morning America
Among several things that have changed in his life, the actor said he no longer walks and can’t play the guitar anymore. His instrument simply stays beside his office desk nowadays.
“I take it easy now,” he said. “I don’t walk that much anymore. I can walk but it’s not pretty and it’s a bit dangerous. So I just roll that into my life, you know — no pun intended.”
Image credits: Apple TV/Rotten Tomatoes
Amid the hardships of life, Michael still had the joy of falling in love with his wife Tracy Pollan, and he raised four children with her.
They are parents to Sam, 36, 30-year-old twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, and Esmé, 23.
“She’s my best friend, my partner,” he told People in an interview this month. “Tracy’s the first person I check in with and the last person I check in with.”
The couple met on the set of the hit show Family Ties in 1985, back when he was dating Nancy McKeon and Tracy was dating Kevin Bacon.
Michael proposed to Tracy Pollan within months of dating and they tied the knot in 1988
Image credits: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Their romance began when they shared the screen again for the 1988 movie Bright Lights, Big City.
Together, the couple oversee the work of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Tracy is currently on the board of the NGO, which has poured $2.5 billion into research for the disease since it began in 2000.
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
After saying he was retiring from acting, Michael returned to the screen with a supporting role in the new season of Shrinking.
“I’m always retiring,” he joked to People.
He also completed the audio version of his new book Future Boy, which includes his personal accounts of filming Family Ties and Back to the Future at the same time in 1985.
He said the past year has been an exciting one, adding: “It’s just been really positive, really energizing.”
“Parkinson’s is a cruel disease. Who could blame him?” one commented after the actor spoke about his passing
