Cal Gaunt
Selma Blair told Christina Applegate to get tested for MS after noticing just one symptom.
Actress and author Blair, 50, was herself officially diagnosed with the condition in 2018 – after believing she’d been suffering from numerous ‘minor’ illnesses for several years.
Fellow actress Applegate, 51, was diagnosed with the same incurable disease in 2021.
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According to the NHS, MS a lifelong condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of symptoms, including issues with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance.
Applegate, who starred alongside Selma Blair in the film The Sweetest Thing in the early 2000s, revealed that Blair urged her to get tested for multiple sclerosis (MS).
Speaking to British Vogue, the Dead to Me star recalls the exact moment when Blair encouraged her to get tested for the disease.
Applegate tells the outlet: “I was sitting in Selma’s living room, our children playing, and I told Selma I’d been having this weird tingling in my feet.
“She said, ‘You must get tested for MS’. [Even my doctor doubted it] but there it was.”
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She continues: “In essence, because of her I’m going to have a better quality of life.”
Blair, who has been living with MS for four decades, didn’t want anyone else to go through the same experience she had before receiving a diagnosis.
Applegate, known for her roles in films like Anchorman and Bad Moms, credits Blair for pushing her to seek medical attention.
Five years ago, Blair announced her MS diagnosis on Instagram and has since become an influential figure in raising awareness and understanding of the condition.
Applegate has since publicly shared her own experience with MS, inspired by Blair’s openness about her journey.
The two actresses have become advocates for those dealing with the disease.
Blair discussed the challenges she faced before her diagnosis, admitting to concealing her symptoms and feeling lost and sad behind the scenes.
She expressed concerns about how her condition would affect her career and constantly feared being deemed incapable or mentally unsound.
These worries led her to step back from acting as she struggled to balance her work with her medical condition. Blair spent days in bed, experiencing physical symptoms and emotional distress.
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While Blair made the decision to temporarily quit acting, she says that she has not entirely closed the door on that chapter of her life.
She acknowledges that the timing hasn’t been right to actively pursue work in acting but emphasised that it is still a possibility for her.
Despite the challenges she has faced, Blair is determined to take the leap and return to acting when the circumstances are aligned.
Blair’s story highlights the difficulties faced by individuals living with chronic conditions like MS and the impact it can have on their personal and professional lives.
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