Bobbing like a cork buffeted by rolling waters, he surges into the room, his elfin body alive with motion. Arms, legs, hands, fingers, feet all are moving ceaselessly, but each operates in a different pattern, speed and rhythm, as if commanded by separate control centres engaged in competition. That famous face, beloved by audiences for more than two decades, remains boyish, but it’s clear that being Michael J. Fox is a challenging role these days.
He has spent the past 16 years coping with Parkinson’s disease — a “progressive, degenerative and incurable neurological disorder”, as he puts it in his best-selling 2002 memoir, Lucky Man. Despite his illness, that choice of title reflects the 46-year-old’s philosophy of life.
“I don’t want to be glib about it, because I know this is really hard for a lot of people, and it’s hard for me physically, and emotionally sometimes,” Michael acknowledges. “But it’s become clear to me that I’m really lucky. The stuff I have — my wife Tracy [Pollan], my kids, my career, the experiences I’ve had, the effect I’ve had — I’ve had a lot for one human being. The shaking and the not always being able to do what I want to do, it’s not that bad.”
“I don’t feel anger, I don’t feel fear. I have a full life. I don’t look at the world through Parkinson’s-coloured glasses. I look at the world the way I’ve always looked at the world. I feel really lucky,” Michael says.
Parkinson’s most often afflicts the elderly, but Michael — who’s dad to Sam, 18, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, 11, and Esme, 6 — is among the 5-10 per cent of patients who develop symptoms before 40.
“The young-onset community has a unique responsibility to use our energy to be proactive,” says Michael, whose privileged circumstances have also heightened his sense of obligation. “If I didn’t work again, it would be OK, and that’s huge. My situation is unique. I don’t have to worry about health insurance or losing my job or the other big issues that most people with Parkinson’s have to deal with. So it’s freed me up to do this stuff.”
“This stuff” is his typically self-deprecating way of describing the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which he founded in 2000. Since then, the New York-based organisation has raised and distributed $108million — a considerable achievement by any measure, although Michael is modest in describing his contribution. “I’m not so much a philanthropist as an encourager of philanthropy,” he says…
For the full interview see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale July 23)
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