Michael J. Fox is opening up about his ongoing health struggles amid his 20-year battle with Parkison’s disease. Speaking with The New York Times Magazine, the 57-year-old revealed that he underwent spinal surgery in April after falling multiple times.
Fox explained: "I was having this recurring problem with my spinal cord. I was told it was benign but if it stayed static I would have diminished feeling in my legs and difficulty moving. Then all of a sudden I started falling — a lot. It was getting ridiculous."
He said that recovery hasn’t been easy, and that he has had setbacks in terms of work. “Last August I was supposed to go to work," he said. "I woke up, walked into the kitchen to get breakfast, misstepped and I went down. I fractured the hell out of my arm. I ended up getting 19 pins and a plate. It was such a blow."
Fox also spoke openly about how his health issues, admitting that they challenged his positive outlook.
"I realized that the understanding I’d reached with Parkinson’s was sincere but risked being glib. I’d made peace with the disease but presumed others had that same relationship when they didn’t," he told the magazine. "Then when I started to deal with the effects from the spinal surgery, I realized: Wow, it can get a lot worse. Being in a position where I couldn’t walk and had health aides 24 hours a day, was I still prepared to say, 'Hey, chin up!' Parkinson’s, it’s a strange test."