Michael J. Fox Opens Up About Recent Health Struggles

Michael J. Fox - CBS News Sunday Morning

During a recent interview, Michael J. Fox opened up about a new series of struggles he is dealing with related to his Parkinson's disease diagnosis. The film and TV actor admits that his disease has sadly gotten worse in recent months. He has found himself falling more than usual, and he recently needed spinal surgery -- which is certainly terrifying news for anyone to hear. Here's what Fox said:

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. I was trying to parse what was the Parkinson's and what was the spinal thing. But it came to the point where it was probably necessary to have surgery. So I had surgery, and an intense amount of physical therapy after. I did it all, and eventually people asked me to do some acting. Last August I was supposed to go to work. 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.

Michael J. Fox updated his fans with these distressing health reports during his recent profile with The New York Times Magazine. It hasn't been an easy journey for Fox since he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991, and let the news become public in 1998. The Back to the Future actor has no shortage of fans in this world, and he has tried to remain optimistic about his health struggles. The actor/author talks openly about his fight and he wrote about it in a series of memoirs. But while the 57-year-old actor continues to work as often as possible, and he keeps his spirits up as much as he can, these most recent developments have certainly come as a blow. And he wasn't afraid to be honest about the difficulties that have ensued.

Unfortunately, it has also taken a toll on his work schedule. As Michael J. Fox admits in the interview, he was hoping to get back into acting after the surgery, and he had at least one or two gigs lined up after he participated in physical therapy. But when he fell down again and wound up with a fractured arm, Fox realized that things might be more intense than he realized, which is certainly quite worrisome.

But as Michael J. Fox admits, he might've pushed himself a little too much so shortly after his spinal surgery, and he paid the price for it. As Michael J. Fox said:

It’s because I had certain optimistic expectations of myself, and I’d had results to bear out those expectations, but I’d had failures too. And I hadn’t given the failures equal weight.

While it's concerning to know that Michael J. Fox is dealing with these recent troubles, it's good to know that he's thoughtful and considerate about how to care for himself and, most of all, that he is not giving up anytime soon. He knows he has generations of fans who care about him and his well-being, and it doesn't sound like he wants to call it quits. Here's hoping Fox continues fighting the good fight.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.