Michael J. Fox was greatly upset when he received his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, as were those around him. In fact, the news came as a huge shock to everyone.
He succumbed to alcohol and melancholy. For seven years, he kept to himself. He soon understood the value of assisting others.
This is when he began to earn a reputation as one of the world’s most prominent Parkinson’s disease advocates. He spent the majority of his time working to raise money for research into a cure. His condition is private, but he continues to demonstrate kindness and respect toward people who are afflicted with it.
In an interview, he stated, “After I made my diagnosis public back in 1998, I began to realize that Parkinson’s gives you two things to reckon with. You deal with the condition, and you deal with people’s perceptions of the condition. It was easy for me to tune in to the way other people were looking into my eyes and seeing their own fear reflected back. I’d assure them that ‘I’m doing great’ – because I was. After a while, the disconnect between the way I felt and the dread people were projecting just seemed, you know, funny.”
Many people contacted him to offer support after he was diagnosed. One phone call, though, altered everything. It would remain with him for the rest of his life. He shared, “Muhammad Ali called me at home. And in this raspy, paper-thin voice, he said, ‘Aahhhhh… Michael, now that you’re in it, we’ll win this fight.’ What could I say?”
Instead of succumbing to defeat, he decided to move forward and started the Michael J. Fox Foundation. This nonprofit supports others battling Parkinson’s Disease with emotional and financial aid, in addition to giving volunteers ample opportunity to get involved. Thanks in part due to the widespread awareness generated by The Michael J. Fox Show, this foundation has raised an astounding $700 million for PD research.
He said, “A funny thing happened. Doctors reached out to me. And I reached out to doctors. More important, the Parkinson’s community reached out to me, and I immediately felt better, just empowered, knowing there were people who understood what I was going through. It was also empowering for physicians, specialists and researchers I began meeting all over the country.”
Although Fox isn’t in perfect health, he explained that the pain has subsided significantly. He said, “My visible symptoms are distracting, but none of them hurt. The only real pain I get is in my feet, which sometimes shuffle and curl up in cramps when I’m sleeping – which is why I keep a very stiff pair of shoes on the floor next to my bed.”
There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, although his doctors were able to discover a combination of medicines that helped him the most. This made him feel better than he did when he was first diagnosed with PD.
He has persevered in the entertainment industry while fighting his condition and, given the chance, he shares his story about living with the disease, as well as what he’s doing through his Foundation to help others.
