In 1991, Michael J. Fox (Alberta, Canada, age 61) changed his life forever. Months after the release of Back to the Future Part 3, a neurologist he went to see about some pain was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. He was 30 years old and at the peak of his career. Since then, the actor has lived a more or less normal life, with phases that are more difficult than others, and only partially devotes himself to acting. Now, in an interview for the American media People, he tells of his most complicated year.
In his memoir There’s No Better Time Than the Future (Libros Cúpula), published in Spanish in early 2022, Fox had already said that his most complicated phase began in 2018: he had to undergo spinal cord surgery to remove it; After this operation, he broke his left arm. But as he revealed in the interview, the last year was the most difficult of his life. The disease worsened, and with it came new obstacles for the actor: “I broke my cheek, my hand, then my shoulder. They put in a spare shoulder and I broke my right arm, then my elbow. I’m 61 years old and I’m feeling it more and more.
He also suffered the loss of his 92-year-old mother in September. All of this has made him go through a complicated phase, as he himself does not hesitate to reveal. “It was a big effort, but I’m happy. I say this because I hope that on certain levels there are people who are able to find happiness despite what they are going through.
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Although Parkinson’s affects his movement, those close to him deny the disease is accelerating, according to the magazine. As a result of an infection he contracted after surgery on his broken hand, his limb became unusable, causing him balance problems and more frequent falls. All of this took a toll on his emotional state: “The truth is, I’ve never been a bad mood guy, but I used to be in a bad mood. I would try to nip it in the bud and say to my carers: ‘Whatever I say, imagine if I had said ‘please’ at the beginning and ‘thank you’ at the end.” He also shares the great one Support he has received from his wife Tracy Pollan and their four children aged 33 to 21. “My little kids never knew me without Parkinson’s,” he explained. “You have never known anything else.”
Fox is gradually recovering, which has given him an emotional boost: “At the moment one of the last wounds is healing and my arm is fine. Now my goal is not to fall. I use all kinds of assistive devices: be it a walker, a wheelchair, a cane, or some guy who puts a belt around my waist to hold me.” Still, a few weeks ago he stood in New York for a mini-reunion back on stage with his Back to the Future co-star Christopher Lloyd. “I love running alone. It’s fantastic,” he tells People.
At the meeting, Fox thanked Lloyd for his support over the years. “People like Chris [Lloyd] they were always there for me,” adding, “It’s not about what I have, it’s about everything you gave me: the voice to do this and to help people.”
In 2000, nine years after his diagnosis, the actor founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation to study Parkinson’s and find a cure for the disease. And of course with the aim of helping people who suffer from it like him. Since then, 1,000 million euros have been collected.
After nearly three decades of acting in films and also television series while living with the disease, he announced his retirement from the world of acting in early 2020 due to complications related to the disease. “To be fair to myself, the producers, directors, editors and poor beleaguered script managers, not to mention the actors who deserve a little rest, I’m about to retire,” he said, referring to the first lived after diagnosis.