Michael J. Fox on Staying Positive After Terrible Loss: ‘She’d Never Add Up the Losses’
Michael J. Fox is a well-liked actor and philanthropist who has won over millions of fans with his captivating demeanor and extraordinary acting ability. However, his struggle with Parkinson’s disease has had a significant influence on his life.
At the age of 29, Fox received a diagnosis of this degenerative neurological disorder in 1991.
He initially kept his diagnosis a secret, but in 1998 he made the decision to go public with it, emerging as a potent spokesperson for Parkinson’s disease research and awareness.
His choice to utilize his notoriety to spread awareness has had a significant effect on the Parkinson’s community, bringing attention to the difficulties faced by those who have the illness.
Michael J. Fox has demonstrated remarkable perseverance by sticking with his career in the entertainment industry in spite of serious health issues.
In 2000, he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has grown into a preeminent institution committed to the disease’s cure.
By means of this foundation, Fox has generated millions of dollars for scientific purposes and has been instrumental in furthering our comprehension of Parkinson’s disease and its possible remedies.
He has received many honors and awards for his unwavering dedication to the cause, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020, which highlights his outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry and the field of medical research.
Many find inspiration in Michael J. Fox’s journey with Parkinson’s disease. He has shown that it is possible to overcome life’s most difficult challenges with humor, grace, and a resolve to have a positive influence.
In addition to increasing public awareness of Parkinson’s disease, his advocacy has given those who have the condition and their families hope.
Beyond his thriving acting career, Michael J. Fox left behind a legacy that encompasses his unwavering pursuit of a cure for Parkinson’s disease as well as his commitment to enhancing the lives of those afflicted by it.
The actor talks about his mother Phyllis, who passed away in September at the age of 92.
Michael J. Fox is well-known for having believed in the healing power of optimism during his thirty years of Parkinson’s disease treatment. He got this quality from his late mother Phyllis, who passed away in September at the age of 92.
“My mum had a long and fulfilling life. “There was no more revered woman,” Fox, 61, said. “She was a lovely lady. You were confident that you would be treated fairly. And she loved to laugh—she laughed all the time.”
Phyllis was concerned when he told her about his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 1991 at 29.
“I was still working TV and movies and establishing a family when I launched the foundation,” adds Fox, who married actress Tracy Pollan in 1988. Their son Sam, now 33, was born in 1989, and the couple added twin daughters Aquinnah and Schuyler — now 27 — in 1995, followed by their youngest, Esmé, 21.
“When she questioned how I did it all, I told her, ‘I just go forward.’” I’m not interested in taking stock or lamenting that something isn’t going to happen. My mum was the same way. She’d never calculate the losses. She’d consider the benefits.”
Fox traces his resilience lessons back to his early years with his late parents, William (d. 1990) and Mary. As military kids, Fox and his four siblings looked out for one another (William served 25 years in the Canadian forces), and Phyllis was the family’s unifying factor.
“Army wives are adaption masters,” he says. “They just know how to handle a new scenario, get the house together, get the schools set up, get a job on the side — since military money is nothing. We didn’t get it as youngsters. Now I understand.”
The actor, who through the Michael J. Fox Foundation has raised over $1.5 billion for Parkinson’s research, admits that the past year has taken a toll on his armor of optimism, with injuries including fractures to his elbow, right arm, hand, and shoulder.
But he’s upbeat today, “rocking and rolling” as his recuperation finally comes full circle. “I’m just coming through where the last of my injuries are mending up; my arm feels terrific,” he says. “Life is fascinating. This is what you get.”
Fox reflects on a proverb he came up with while recuperating from a risky spinal cord procedure to remove a tumor from his spine in 2018.
“If I can find thankfulness in anything I do and whatever scenario I’m in if I can find one little thing to be grateful for, it turns the whole situation around and allows for the possibility of grace, of something great happening,” the actor says. “I’m just getting back into that groove, so it’s very good.”
