'Death knocks at the door': Michael J. Fox opens up about his life with Parkinson's disease

MISE À DAY

At only 61 years old, Michael J. Fox considers his days numbered because of his Parkinson's disease. “Death is knocking at the door,” the Back to the Future actor said in a heart-to-heart interview aired on CBS Sunday.

Michael J. Fox has lived with Parkinson's for over 30 years. He was diagnosed with the disease in 1991 when he was just 29 years old, a year after filming the final installment of the Return from the Future trilogy which gave him the status of star. 

The Canadian-American actor opened up to host Jane Pauley on CBS Sunday Morning last Sunday. He admitted that living with this brain disorder is 'more and more difficult every day'

“I won't be 80,” he said. It's hard to have Parkinson's disease… It's getting harder and harder, every day you suffer. Death is knocking at the door, but that's the way it is.

The actor, who first rose to fame 35 years ago with his role in the series Sacred Family (Family Ties >), describes Parkinson's disease as “a gift that keeps taking”.

“You don't die of Parkinson's disease. You die with Parkinson's disease, ”adds the one who does not hesitate to tackle the more difficult sides of this incurable degenerative disease, such as attacks on his nervous system and his motor skills, which include walking and speaking.&nbsp ;

An almost fatal fall

Earlier this month, Michael J. Fox broke several bones due to a simple fall , one of the great inconveniences of his illness.

“It's falling… and sucking in food and getting pneumonia. All these subtle ways that grab you,” says the artist who ended up with both broken arms and facial fractures from falls, in addition to having to undergo spinal surgery for a tumor. benign.  

“I realize, with gratitude, that optimism is enduring,” says the actor who started the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 with the aim of educate the public and fund studies of brain disorders. 

In November 2022, Michael J. Fox was awarded an Honorary Oscar for his work in the fight against Parkinson's disease. 

Documentary on Apple TV

The documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie will be offered on Apple TV on May 12. We follow the actor in his family life and see how he copes with Parkinson's disease on a daily basis.  

“If you can find something to be grateful for, then you can find something to look forward to, and you move on,” adds the optimistic actor.