Michael J. Fox’s battle with Parkinson’s disease is getting more challenging by the day.
In a preview for his upcoming interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the 61-year-old actor opened up to reporter Jane Pauly about his health, admitting that things are getting tough for him. He shared with the outlet:
“My life is set up so…I can pack Parkinson’s along with me if I have to. Yeah, it’s banging on the door. Yeah, I mean, I’m not gonna lie. It’s gettin’ hard, it’s gettin’ harder. It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher. But that’s the way it is.”
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While the Back to the Future star tries to remain positive, he said he cannot ignore his own mortality. Michael revealed he had surgery to remove a benign tumor on his spine, but the operation unfortunately “messed up” his ability to walk, and he began breaking bones in his arm, elbow, face, and hand. When Jane asked if the Stuart Little star injured himself from “falling,” he replied:
“Which is a big killer with Parkinson’s. It’s falling … and aspirating food and getting pneumonia. All these subtle ways that gets ya.’ … You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s. I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it. … I’m not gonna be 80. I’m not gonna be 80.”
Heartbreaking. You can see a brief sneak peek at the interview (below):
As you may know, Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 at the age of 29 – but did not publicly reveal his health until seven years later. Despite his circumstances, he refuses to let it stop him from helping future generations. Since then, Michael has become a big advocate for Parkinson’s research, even launching his own nonprofit called the Michael J. Fox Foundation to help raise awareness about the disease and money. During an event for the foundation this week, he told Entertainment Tonight that his team has contributed to several medical advancements to help the prevention of Parkinson’s:
“The idea of a biomarker… a way to identify the disease before the disease is present. By the time I was diagnosed, I had a little twitch in my pinky but…with this, we can identify the disease really early and help progression and essentially cure ahead of the game.”
That is amazing. We are sending our love to Michael amid his battle with Parkinson’s. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via CBS Sunday Morning/YouTube]
The post Michael J. Fox Says His Parkinson’s Disease Battle Is ‘Getting Harder’ -- And Doesn’t Think He Will Live To ‘Be 80’ appeared first on Perez Hilton.