Rosario Monachino
Michael J. Fox has shared a sad health update with fans in a new interview about his heartbreaking condition.
The Back to the Future star, 61, has starred in films such as Teen Wolf and Stuart Little.
His role as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future franchise cemented him as a Hollywood icon.
However, Fox has now opened up about his deteriorating health.
Watch Michael J. Fox discuss his health below…
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease when he was just 29 years old and has been living with it for over 30 years.
According to the NHS, Parkinson’s Disease ‘is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years’.
Symptoms include stiff muscles, shaking, slurred speech and difficulty with balance and coordination – along with other symptoms.
The Golden Globe-winning actor was filming Doc Hollywood when he looked for medical advice about a tremor which had developed in his pinkie finger.
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In an interview on CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley, Fox sadly reveals that things are starting to get even worse for him.
Pauley, who interviewed Fox early in his career, notes how the disease had taken its toll on the actor.
“Every time I see you, I can see it’s taken a little bit more of something,” she tells him.
“For 30 years,” Fox responds. “There’s not many of us that have this disease for 30 years.
“It sucks. It sucks having Parkinson’s. For some families, it’s a nightmare. It’s a living hell. You have to deal with realities that are beyond most people’s understanding.”
He continues: “It’s banging at the door.
“I’m not gonna’ lie, it’s gettin’ hard. It’s gettin’ harder. It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher.
“But, that’s the way it is. I mean, you know, who do I see about that?”
Fox goes on to reveal that he’s had spinal surgery for a tumorous growth, which has led to difficulty walking.
This has led to some falls and further injuries including breaking his arms, his face and his elbow.
Pauley asks about the falls, which leads to the Designated Survivor actor adding: “[Falling] is a big killer with Parkinson’s. It’s falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia.
“All these subtle ways that gets ya’.
“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s.
“So – so I’ve been – I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it… I’m not gonna be 80. I’m not gonna be 80.”
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In 2000, Fox launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has supported some of the most ambitious research in the field in the hope to find a cure for the disease.
Recently, researchers announced a major breakthrough as they identified forms of a protein and a testing method that can be used to diagnose Parkinson’s much earlier.
This could potentially reduce the number of people who are wrongly diagnosed with the disease.
The research comes from the Fox Foundation’s Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative, which has followed more than 1,100 volunteers with and without the disease to take part in studies.
His documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is launching on Apple TV+ on May 12 – which will give viewers an insight into the actor’s life and the impact his condition has had on it.
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