Michael J. Fox has revealed how living with Parkinson’s affects his day-to-day life in a recent preview for an upcoming interview on American current affairs program CBS Sunday Morning, to promote the documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
The actor who famously played Marty McFly in the Back to The Future franchise has been battling with Parkinson’s for 30 years and has given some insight into how difficult his life has become.
Journalist Jane Pauley consoles him in the clip, saying that he has “not squandered any of his capacity” but adds that this disease will unfortunately one day “make the call” for him.
“Yeah, it’s, it’s banging on the door,” Mr Fox said in response.
“I’m not gonna lie. It’s gettin’ hard, it’s gettin’ harder. It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher.”
Actor Michael J. Fox, 61, was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991 when he was just 29. Fox tells Jane Pauley that dealing with the incurable disease is getting more challenging, and he can’t imagine living until he’s 80. More this ‘Sunday Morning.’ pic.twitter.com/hE7KeTiDUi
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) April 28, 2023
Fox then explains how he had surgery to remove a benign tumour on his spine, but it left him “messed up”, leading to a decline in his walking ability which has seen him break his arm, elbow, face and hand.
He then goes on to explain that the “big killer” of Parkinson’s disease is “falling” and can also be “aspirating food and getting pneumonia,” saying that it’s “all these subtle ways that gets you.”
In “Still,” the new documentary about his life, Michael J. Fox reflects on superstardom, Parkinson’s research that just announced a breakthrough, and his very public battle against the disease. https://t.co/76MjmKZZZm pic.twitter.com/2DoF0OEAq2
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) April 30, 2023
“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s,” Fox ended with.
Michael J Fox was first diagnosed with the disease at the young age of 29. Since then, he has heroically become one of the leading advocates for Parkinson’s research, including the launch of the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help educate the public and fund studies.
His foundation has recently had a big breakthrough where they found that signs of the disease can be identified by examining spinal fluid from living patients, Fox said the he has been “deeply moved” by the breakthrough and hopes that soon, young patients might simply be able to get a nasal swap and treat the disease early on.
More details on the work his foundation does and how you can help can be found here.
