httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INYUJ_dicMg
In 1991 when Fox was barely 30 and at the peak of his success, he sought medical treatment for a twitch in his finger, and the following year he received the devastating diagnosis of young-onset Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement and is typically symptomized by involuntarily body movements and debilitating tremors.
Fox gamely concealed his condition while he continued working, but in 1998 he finally went public with the announcement that he was suffering from the disease and embarked upon a second career as a spokesperson and activist for Parkinson’s research.
Despite his condition, Fox has soldiered on with his acting career, most recently starring as Mike Henry in NBC’s The Michael J. Fox Show portraying a newscaster with Parkinson’s who retires from work, and also playing a recurring role on the CBS drama The Good Wife as Louis Canning, an opposing counsel who suffers from tardive dyskinesia and often uses his condition to his advantage by repeatedly calling attention to it in order to elicit sympathy during court appearances.
Lately we’ve fielded many inquiries from readers about whether it’s true that Michael J. Fox is truly “Losing a heartbreaking fight against Parkinson’s disease,” most of which seem to have been prompted by a 26 February 2016 Radar Online article of that title.
Michael J. Fox is a tragic shell of his former self and so crippled by Parkinson’s disease that he needs help getting into a car.
“Michael’s bravery knows no bounds. But as the disease takes its toll on his body, even he is beginning to see that his battle is a losing one.”
We can’t speak to the private details of how much or how fast Michael J. Fox’s physical condition is declining, but in a general sense we can assert that he is indeed “Losing a heartbreaking fight against Parkinson’s disease,” as Parkinson’s is a truly heartbreaking condition, and everyone who suffers from it is essentially “Losing the fight” because it is a progressive disease with no cure.
It’s possible that in the not-too-distant future Michael J. Fox will, as Radar Online implied, lose the ability to walk on his own and require the use of a wheelchair and/or face the onset of dementia.
Since his diagnosis’s disclosure, Fox has worked to eliminate the disease in his lifetime.