Michael J. Fox isn’t afraid of death knocking on his door.
The beloved actor, who publicly revealed his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1998, has opened up about his ongoing battle with the degenerative central nervous system disorder.
When asked if anything scares him, the beloved actor told Town & Country that anything that puts his “family in jeopardy,” terrifies him, referring to his wife Tracy Pollan and their four kids.
“One day I’ll run out of gas. One day I’ll just say, ‘It’s not going to happen. I’m not going out today.’ If that comes, I’ll allow myself that. I’m 62 years old,” he told the publication’s Tenth Annual Philanthropy issue.
“Certainly, if I were to pass away tomorrow, it would be premature, but it wouldn’t be unheard of. And so, no, I don’t fear that.”
According to the CDC, Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s.
The Parkinson’s Foundation says the affliction “affects predominately the dopamine-producing (“dopaminergic”) neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra.”
In recent years, Fox’s endured a few physical injuries, including a broken arm, shoulder, and hand.
“My hand got infected, and then I almost lost it,” he told the outlet. “It was a tsunami of misfortune.”
The “Back to the Future” actor was diagnosed with the disease in 1991, at age 29.
In 2000, Fox opened the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research — a move that has helped many find the help and support they need throughout their respective battles with the disease.
He disclosed his medical battle in 1998 after paparazzi “heckled” him into doing so.
“It was seven or eight years after I had been diagnosed … [and] the paparazzi and stuff, they would stand outside my apartment and heckle at me, like, ‘What’s a matter with you?’” Fox told “Entertainment Tonight” in 2021.
“I said, ‘I can’t be making my neighbors deal with this,’ so I came out, and it was great. It was a great thing.”
“It was a great surprise to me that people responded the way they responded. They responded with interest, in the desire to find an answer to the the disease, and then I saw that as a great opportunity. I didn’t get put in this position to squander it,” he added.
This news item came from: https://nypost.com/2023/11/03/entertainment/michael-j-fox-doesnt-fear-death-amid-parkinsons-battle-one-day-ill-run-out-of-gas/
