Michael J. Fox, 61, Says Progressing Parkinson’s Likely Means He’s ‘Not Gonna Be 80’
Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s back in 1991, and appears in a new documentary ‘Still’ on AppleTV+ about the challenges of the disease.
Michael J. Fox, 61, doesn’t believe he will live to be 80 years old as his Parkinson’s diagnosis continues to progress. “Yeah, it’s banging on the door,” he said on CBS Sunday Morning to host Jane Pauley in an interview that aired Sunday, April 30, referencing the end of his life. “All these subtle ways that gets you. … You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s. So I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it. … I’m not gonna be 80. I’m not gonna be 80,” the actor, who is telling his story in documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie on Apple TV+, said.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not gonna lie. It’s getting hard, it’s getting harder. It’s getting tougher. Every day it’s tougher. But that’s the way it is. I mean, you know, who do I see about that?” the Back To The Future icon added of the challenging disease, which he was diagnosed with in 1991 — but didn’t publicly confirm that he had Parkinson’s until seven years later.
Parkinson’s disease is defined as a a neurological disorder that can cause “unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination,” according to the official website for the National Institute on Aging in the U.S. As the disease progresses, those affected begin to have difficulties with basic activities such as walking and speaking, along with leading to “behavioral changes, sleep problems, depression, memory difficulties, and fatigue.” Statistically, the disease affects many more men than women. There is also no known cure for the condition that affects around 500,000 Americans per the National Institute of Health.
In the same interview, he also explained that a surgery to remove a benign tumor on his spinal cord, as well as falls that have lead to broken bones, have all “messed up” his ability to walk.
As Michael was only 29 at the time of his diagnosis, he has struggled with progressing Parkinson’s through most of his marriage to wife Tracy Pollan, 62, who he shares four children with: Sam Michael, 34, Schuyler Frances, 29, Aquinnah Kathleen, 29, and Esmé Annabelle, 23. “We were just married when I was diagnosed,” he said to CBS back in 2022. “We’ve been married for 32 years, I’ve been diagnosed for 30 years. Very early in the marriage she got this dumped on,” he also said at the time.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie on Apple TV+ begins streaming on May 12, 2023.