Michael J. Fox reflects on a painful year in which he broke several bones amid his battle with Parkinson’s

Michael J. Fox has reflected on a painful past year that saw him suffer multiple broken bones and mourn the loss of his mother – amid his 30-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.

In an emotional interview with People, the Back To The Future star, 61, said his condition “got worse” and he became uncharacteristically “short with people” after he broke his cheek, hand, shoulder and arm and his mother Phyllis died at 92 years old. .

The actor had previously cited 2018 as one of his worst years, when he underwent spinal surgery to remove a tumor, after which he broke his left arm.

He said: ‘I broke my cheek, then my hand, then my shoulder, got a replacement shoulder in and broke my [right] arm, then I broke my elbow. I am 61 years old, and I feel it a little more.

“I was never really a cranky guy, but I got very angry and short with people. I try to nip it in the bud. I always think about these aides who work with me. And I often tell them, ‘Whatever I say, just imagine I said ‘please’ at the beginning and ‘thank you’ at the end. Just take a second and realize that maybe I would have said that if I was more myself, but I didn’t, so I apologize.’

The actor was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, in 1991. He went public with his diagnosis in 1998 and continued his acting career.

The disease affects the body’s nervous system and causes tremors, muscle stiffness and loss of balance. Medicines can help control the symptoms but there is no cure.

The actor-turned-lawyer started the Michael J Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund research for therapies and cures to treat the degenerative disease. The organization has raised more than $1 billion since its founding.

He retired from acting in 2020, explaining that Parkinson’s had begun to affect his ability to speak and his memory.

The star said he is now “feeling good” as the last of his injuries heal and described his mission to “not fall down.”

Michael, who was seen struggling with his mobility at this month’s Comic-Con where he reunited with BTTF co-star Christopher Lloyd, said: “So whatever works to keep from falling down, whether it’s a walker or a wheelchair, a cane , a guy with a belt around his waist holding it — I use all these tools.’

Michael added that he is now well on his way to walking steadily again.

The Good Wife actor said his positive attitude stemmed from always trying to “find gratitude wherever I am”, and how, despite his difficult months, he had “come out on the other side kinder” and ultimately happy again.

The star has been married to actress Tracy Pollan, 62, since 1988. They share four children, son Sam, 33, and daughters Aquinnah and Schuyler, 27, and Esmé, 21.

Michael praised his wife Tracy for her love and support throughout their marriage and his health battles

Earlier this month, Michael shared that his mother, Phyllis Fox, had passed away at the age of 92 on September 24.

The actor revealed the sad news during his appearance at the 2022 New York Comic Con over the weekend.

Michael remembered Phyllis by recalling a funny anecdote about how she didn’t want him filming Family Ties during the day and Back to the Future at night in the 1980s.

“I was 23 years old and I called her, she was in Canada and I said, ‘They want me to do this Steven Spielberg movie, but I have to do it at night and I have to do Family Ties during the day.’ And she said, “You’re going to be too tired,” he said.

The Canadian-American star told her mother in response: ‘I live for this kind of fatigue. It will be okay.

He then added: ‘To this day – well, until two weeks ago – my mum thought it was a really bad idea for me to do Back to the Future. She loved the movie, [but she was right]I got tired.’

According to an online obituary, Phyllis was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1929.

She is survived by sons Steve and Michael, and daughters Jackie and Kelli, and her nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Phyllis was “particularly proud of raising awareness of diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, and of serving on the board of the Michael J Fox Theater in Burnaby.”

During Comic Con, Michael also talked about his own health issues and how he remains optimistic despite them.

‘Well, in the last year I’ve broken my cheek, my eye socket, my hand, my elbow … my shoulder. I had a tough year when I got beat up. “But it was really cool because it made me realize … with gratitude, it’s sustainable,” he said.

“If you can find something to be grateful for, if you can find something and say, ‘Well, that’s good,’ … It’s always going to get better … I’m very optimistic.

“I would say optimism is thinking that things are more likely to get better than they are to get worse. If you believe that, and you’re grateful for that, it will sustain you for the rest of your life,” he added.

Michael previously shared his Parkinson’s struggles in an interview with People in 2020, where he discussed his short-term memory, tremors and stiffness.

“My short-term memory is red,” he said, adding, “I’ve always had a real knack for lines and memorization. And I had some extreme situations where the last jobs I did were actually really wordy parts. I struggled during both.

He is now looking forward to an AppleTV+ documentary to be released in 2023 that will chronicle his life.