Michael J. Fox has been reflecting on a painful past year of breaking multiple bones and grieving the loss of his mother amid his 30-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
In an emotional interview with People, the 61-year-old Back to the Future star said his condition had “worsened” and that he had become unusually “short with people” after rubbing his cheek, hand, shoulder and arm broken and his mother Phyllis died at the age of 92 .
The actor previously credited 2018 as one of his worst years, when he underwent spinal cord surgery to remove a tumor and broke his left arm.
Inspiration: Michael J. Fox has reflected on a painful past year of suffering multiple fractures and grieving the loss of his mother – amid his 30-year battle with Parkinson’s disease (pictured October 2022)
He said: “I broke my cheek, then my hand, then my shoulder, had a replacement shoulder put in and broke mine [right] Poor, then I broke my elbow. I’m 61 years old and I’m feeling it a little bit more.
“I’ve never really been a moody guy, but I did get very moody and short with people. I try to nip it in the bud. I always think of these helpers who work with me. And I often tell them, “Whatever I say, imagine if I started by saying “please” and ended by saying “thank you.” Just take a second and absorb that if I were more myself, I might have said that, but I didn’t, so I apologize.
The actor was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a long-term degenerative disease of the central nervous system, in 1991. In 1998 he went public with his diagnosis and continued his acting career.
The disease affects the body’s nervous system, causing tremors, muscle rigidity, and loss of balance. Medications can help control symptoms, but there is no cure.
Icon: In an emotional interview with People, the 61-year-old Back To The Future star said his condition had “worsened” and that he had become unusually “short with people” after breaking his cheek, hand, shoulder and arm and his mother Phyllis died aged 92
Sad news: Michael shared that his mother, Phyllis Fox, passed away on September 24 at the age of 92; Pictured in 2014
The actor-turned-advocate established the Michael J Fox Foundation in 2000 to fund research into therapies and cures to treat the degenerative disease. The organization has raised more than $1 billion since its inception.
He retired from acting in 2020, explaining that Parkinson’s disease had started to affect his ability to speak and his memory.
The star said he’s feeling “good” now as the last of his injuries heal and described his mission of “not falling off”.
Michael, who struggled with his movement at this month’s Comic-Con, where he reunited with BTTF co-star Christopher Lloyd, said: “So whatever works to keep from falling off, whether it’s a walker or a wheelchair is, a stick, a guy with a belt around my waist holding it – I use all these tools.
Michael added that he is now on his way to being stable again.
The Good Wife actor said his positivity stems from how he’s always tried to “find gratitude wherever I am” and how, despite his difficult months, he’s “come out on the other side kinder” and finally happy again .
The star has been married to actress Tracy Pollan, 62, since 1988. They share four children, son Sam, 33, and daughters Aquinnah and Schuyler, 27, and Esmé, 21.
Michael praised his wife Tracy for her love and support throughout their marriage and his health struggles
Doc and Marty reunited! Michael, who struggled with his movement at this month’s Comic-Con, where he reunited with BTTF co-star Christopher Lloyd, said: “Whatever works to keep you from falling, whether it’s a walker or a wheelchair, a stick – I use all these tools
Earlier this month, Michael shared that his mother, Phyllis Fox, passed away on September 24 at the age of 92.
The actor revealed the sad news during his appearance at New York Comic Con 2022 over the weekend.
Michael remembered Phyllis by recalling a funny anecdote about how she didn’t want him filming Family Ties by day and Back to the Future by night in the 1980s.
“I was 23 years old and I called her, she was in Canada and I said, ‘They want me to do this Steven Spielberg movie, but I have to do it at night and I have to do Family Ties during the day. And she said, “You’re going to be too tired,” he shared.
The Canadian-American star replied to his mother: “I live for that kind of fatigue. It will be fine.’
He then added, “Up until now – well, up until two weeks ago – my mom thought it was a really bad idea for me to do Back to the Future. she loved the movie [but she was right]I got tired.’
Phyllis was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1929, according to an online obituary.
She is survived by sons Steve and Michael and daughters Jackie and Kelli and their nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.
Phyllis “was particularly proud to raise awareness of diabetes and Parkinson’s disease and to serve on the board of directors of the Michael J Fox Theater in Burnaby.”
Family first: The star has been married to actress Tracy Pollan, 62, since 1988. They share four children, son Sam, 33, and daughters Aquinnah and Schuyler, 27, and Esmé, 21
Timeless: He retired from acting in 2020 and explained that Parkinson’s disease had begun to affect his ability to speak and his memory, pictured in a 1985 still from Back to the Future
During Comic Con, Michael also opened up about his own health issues and how he remains optimistic despite them.
“Well, in the last year I’ve broken my cheek, my eye socket, my hand, my elbow…my shoulder. I had a rough year getting beat up. But that was really cool because it made me realize … with gratitude, it’s sustainable,” he said.
“When you find something to be thankful for, when you can find something and say, ‘Well, that’s good’… It’s only going to get better… I’m very optimistic.”
Happy again: The Good Wife actor said his positive attitude stems from how he’s always tried to “find gratitude wherever I am” and how, despite his trying months, he’s “come out kinder on the other side” and finally be happy again (pictured October 8, 2022)
“I would say optimism means things are going to get better rather than worse. If you believe in it and are thankful for it, it will support you for the rest of your life,” he added.
Michael had previously shared his battles with Parkinson’s in a 2020 interview with People, speaking about his short-term memory, tremors and rigidity.
“My short-term memory is gone,” he said, adding, “I’ve always had a real mastery of lines and memorization. And I’ve had some extreme situations where the last few jobs I’ve done have been really, really word-heavy parts. I fought my way through both.
He’s now looking forward to an AppleTV+ documentary due out in 2023 that will chronicle his life.
WHAT IS PARKINSON’S DISEASE?
Parkinson’s disease affects one in 500 people and around 127,000 people in the UK are living with the disease.
Numbers also suggest that one million Americans are also suffering.
It causes muscle stiffness, slow movement, tremors, trouble sleeping, chronic fatigue, reduced quality of life and can lead to severe disability.
It’s a progressive neurological disease that destroys cells in the part of the brain that controls movement.
It is known that sufferers have a reduced supply of dopamine because nerve cells that produce it have died.
There is currently no cure and no way to stop the disease from progressing, but hundreds of scientific studies are underway to change this.