Why Fox has not despaired

Michael J. Fox refuses to feel sorry for himself, says Mark Dagostino in People. Ten years ago, the star of Family Ties and the Back to the Future movies disclosed that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Over the years, his condition has steadily worsened. Now, at some point virtually every day, his limbs go entirely slack and his speech slurs, and he suffers from spastic tremors. Any number of variables can make his symptoms more acute. “It can be affected by whether or not I’ve eaten enough protein,” he says, “or if there’s a low-pressure system in the weather.” To keep his movements within some control, Fox, 47, depends on a cocktail of drugs that must be precisely measured and timed. “If I want to take my daughter Esmé to school, and I have 10 minutes, I don’t know for sure within that 10 minutes if I’ll be able to put my shoes on to go out the door.” Yet despite the tremendous challenges, Fox is remarkably upbeat and active. He still manages to drive, ice-skate, and play guitar, and he credits his illness with bringing him closer to his wife and four children. “I really love my life. For everything that’s worse, there’s something that’s better. Yes, it’s a horrible condition. But it’s part of an amazing life. And not an ‘otherwise amazing life.’ It’s part of what makes my life amazing.”

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