Michael J. Fox made a name for himself as a young actor in the 1980s with iconic roles in both TV and movies. Sadly, the beloved actor was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease when he was just 29 years old. Now at 61, Fox takes a moment to discuss his condition and his hopes for the future.
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s getting harder,” Michael J. Fox said in an interview with Jane Pauley on CBS Sunday Morning. “It’s getting tougher. Every day gets tougher. But that’s the way it is. I mean, who do I see about that?”
Fox has undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his spine, which further impacted his walking. Since that time he has fallen and injured himself several times in recent years leading to two broken arms, a broken hand, and breaks to facial bones.
“Every time I see you, I can see it’s taken a little bit more of something,” Pauley commented during the interview.
“It’s been 30+ years; not many of us that have had this disease for 30 years,” Michael answered. “It sucks having Parkinson’s.” Fox continued to explain that he is regularly reminded of his mortality and that “you don’t die from Parkinson’s, you die with Parkinson’s.”
In the last 20 years Fox has helped raise more than $1.5 billion dollars for Parkinson’s research. Recently, the Michael J. Fox Foundation announced a breakthrough discovery of a specific Parkinson’s biomarker that is helping diagnose and treat the disease faster and more effectively than ever before.
Watch the full interview below to hear more about the ongoing research and Fox’s determined optimism for the future.