Fox, who played Marty McFly in “Back to the Future,” has talked more about the “darkest moment” he has been through since being told he has Parkinson’s disease.
The 62-year-old actor has been dealing with Parkinson’s for more than 20 years. He first told the public about his illness in 1998.
Fox has helped bring more attention to the condition that causes movements that aren’t planned or can’t be controlled by talking freely about how it has affected his life.
In 2020, the star told People about a scary time two years before when a noncancerous tumor was growing quickly on his spine.
He had surgery to keep him from becoming paralyzed, and the doctors had to be careful when they took out the tumor to keep it from hurting him more.
Fox had to learn how to walk again after the surgery. He thought the worst was over. A few months later, though, he fell while getting ready to film an appearance in a Spike Lee movie and broke his arm badly.
His words, “That was definitely my darkest moment,” were true.
“I lost it. As I waited for the ambulance, I leaned against the wall in my kitchen and thought, “This is as low as it gets for me.”
In an interview with Town & Country earlier this month, Fox talked about the event and said that the broken arm from 2018 was “nothing” now.
Since then, the star has hurt his other arm and shoulder, broken his cheek and orbital bone, and hurt his hand, which now has an infection.
“I almost lost it,” he said about his hand. “There was a flood of bad luck.”
Because he has had Parkinson’s disease for so long, the star often trips and falls, but he is still not afraid of his future.
Fox said, “Anything that would put my family in danger” when asked what scared him.
“One day I’ll run out of gas,” he said to himself. I’ll just say, “It’s not going to happen,” one day. I’m staying in today.
“I’ll let that happen if it comes up.” I am 62 years old. It would be too soon if I died tomorrow, but it’s not unheard of for people to die early. So, no, I’m not afraid of that.”
Fox started the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research a few years after telling everyone about his diagnosis. The goal of the foundation is to help doctors find a cure for Parkinson’s.
He said, “It seemed clear to me,” and added that the science was “ahead of the money” in terms of study.