"I won’t be 80": Michael J. Fox Opens Up about Struggles with Parkinson’s Disease

Canadian-American activist and retired actor Michael J. Fox has opened up about his struggles with Parkinson’s disease. 

The 61-year-old former Hollywood actor was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease a year after "Back to the Future Part III" was released in 1990.

In an interview on "CBS", he described Parkinson’s as a gift that keeps on taking, adding: “It sucks, having Parkinson’s ... It’s getting tougher, it’s getting harder, every day you suffer but that’s the way it is.”

The condition causes parts of the brain to become progressively damaged throughout the years. The three main symptoms are involuntary shaking of parts of the body, known as tremors, slow movement, and stiff and inflexible muscles. 

Fox said that he has had a string of injuries from falling, including breaking bones in his face and other parts of his body, along with a benign tumor on his spine.

He added: “All these subtle ways that get you, you don’t die from Parkinson’s, you die with (the condition). I’m not going to be 80. I won’t be 80,”.

“I recognize how hard this is for people and recognize how hard it is for me but I have a certain set of skills that allow me to deal with this stuff and I realize, with gratitude, optimism is sustainable. If you can find something to be grateful for then you find something to look forward to and you carry on,”.

Fox founded the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000 which has raised more than $1.75bn for research funding, according to the charity’s website. The foundation also sponsored a study, published in April, that says researchers have discovered a biomarker for Parkinson’s.

“This changes everything. I know where we are right now. In five years, they will be able tell if you have it, they will be able to tell if you’re ever going to get it and we’ll know how to treat it,” he said.

The actor, who has four children with his wife Tracy Pollan, retired in 2020. He was honored at the Governors awards with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Oscar recognizing outstanding philanthropic efforts in November, and is to release an Apple TV+ documentary Still: A Michael J Fox Movie.