Michael J. Fox reflected on his experiences following his Parkinson’s diagnosis in a speech he gave at the Governor’s Awards event on Saturday, November 19. At that event he accepted an award for his philanthropic efforts, People magazine detailed.
The actor recalled that when he was told, at the age of 30, that the rest of his life would have to adjust to the degenerative disorder he suffers from, he was in denial for several years.
However, the protagonist of “Return to the future» considers that with the passing of time his illness became a «gift».
“They told me that I only had 10 years left to work. It was crap, that’s what happened. The hardest part was dealing with the certainty of my condition and the uncertainty of the whole situation. I just knew it would get worse. The diagnosis was definitive, the progress was indefinite and uncertain», he recounted.
“Then I went into seven years of denial, trying to make sense of it all. The boy who left Canada convinced that he would make anything possible, at least by working hard and believing in himself, now had a difficult task ahead of him,” he continued. “But now I refer to Parkinson’s as the gift that keeps taking things away from me, but a gift nonetheless,” he said.
Similarly, Michael J. Fox said that researching the matter gave him more peace of mind. “Once I was committed to learning about the disease, every interaction, every new piece of information I collected, every researcher I spoke to, all confirmed that science was ahead of money. The answers could be unlocked with the right investments,” he noted.
Later in his presentation, Fox commented that with the correct medical advice he was able to get ahead. “I told very few people and I kept my secret. Subsequently, all kinds of doctors helped me understand the physical processes that were taking place or would take place in my brain. Finally, I felt that I had to tell everyone, because I understood that it would represent a huge impact on my career, “he said.