In 1991, the life of Michael J. Fox (Alberta, Canada, 61 years old) changed forever.
Months after the release of the third installment of
Back to the Future
,
a neurologist whom he had visited for some pain diagnosed him with Parkinson's.
He was 30 years old and at the top of his career.
Since then, the actor has been living a more or less normal life, with periods more difficult than others and devoting himself only partially to acting.
Now, in an interview for the American media
People
,
he recounts his most difficult year.
In his memoir,
There is no better time than the future
(Libros Cúpula), published in Spanish in early 2022, Fox had already said that his most complicated stage began in 2018: he had to face spinal cord surgery to remove it. A tumor;
after that surgery he fractured his left arm.
But, as he revealed in the interview, this past year has been the most difficult of his life.
The disease worsened and, with it, came new obstacles for the actor: “I broke my cheek, my hand, then my shoulder.
They put in a replacement shoulder and I broke my right arm, then my elbow.
I am 61 years old and I feel it more and more.
In addition, in September he suffered the loss of his 92-year-old mother.
All this has led him to live a complicated stage, as he himself does not hesitate to reveal.
“It has been a huge effort, but I am happy.
I say this because I hope that, at certain levels, there are people capable of finding happiness despite everything they are going through.
More information
Michael J. Fox, on Parkinson's who has suffered for 30 years: "I'm not afraid of death"
Although Parkinson's affects his movement, those around him deny, according to the magazine, that the disease is progressing faster and faster.
As a result of an infection that he suffered after the operation on his broken hand, he made the limb unusable, which caused him balance problems and more frequent falls.
All this took its toll on his emotional state: “The truth is that I have never been a bad-tempered guy, but I used to get in a bad mood.
I would try to nip it in the bud and tell my keepers, 'Whatever I say, imagine I said 'please' at the beginning and 'thank you' at the end."
In addition, he recounts the great support he has received from his wife, Tracy Pollan, and his four children, ages 33 to 21.
"My young children have never known me without Parkinson's," he explained.
"They have never known anything else."
Little by little Fox is recovering, something that has given him an emotional boost: “Right now one of the last wounds is healing and my arm is fine.
Now my goal is not to fall.
I use all kinds of tools: whether it's a walker, a wheelchair, a cane or a guy who puts a belt around my waist to hold me."
Still, a few weeks ago he reappeared on stage in New York for a mini-reunion with his
Back to the Future
co-star Christopher Lloyd.
“I think it's great to walk alone.
It's fantastic,” he explains to
People
.
At the meeting, Fox thanked Lloyd for his support over the years.
"People like Chris [Lloyd] have always been there for me," adding, "It's not about what I have, it's about everything you've given me: the voice to do this and help people."
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In 2000, nine years after his diagnosis, the actor created the Michael J. Fox Foundation to investigate Parkinson's and find a cure for the disease.
And of course, with the aim of helping people who suffer from it like him.
Since then, he has raised 1,000 million euros.
After almost three decades acting in movies and also television series, while living with the disease, at the beginning of 2020 he announced his withdrawal from the world of acting due to complications derived from his illness.
"Being fair to myself, producers, directors, editors, and the poor beleaguered script supervisors, not to mention the actors who deserve a little peace, I'm about to enter a second retirement," he said, referring to the first. who lived after being diagnosed.