The 'Back to the Future' actor discusses in details his difficult struggles with multiple health problems that include Parkinson's disease and tumor among others.
- Apr 30, 2023
AceShowbiz - Michael J. Fox is worried death is "banging on the door." The Parkinson's stricken "Back to the Future" actor, 61, has struggled with the disease for more than 30 years and says he is also scared he may not reach the age of 80.
"I'm not gonna be 80," he told "CBS Sunday Morning". He replied, "Yeah, it's, it's banging on the door," when Journalist Jane Pauley told Michael his illness would one day "make the call" as to when it's his time to go. He went on, "I'm not gonna lie. It's gettin' hard, it's gettin' harder. It's gettin' tougher. Every day it's tougher."
Michael also told how he had surgery to remove a benign tumour on his spine, but said the procedure "messed up" his ability to walk, so he started to "break" other parts of his body, including his arm, elbow, face and hand.
He stressed the "big killer" of Parkinson's is falling over, with "aspirating food" and "getting pneumonia" also potentially deadly risks of the illness. The actor added they were all part of "subtle ways" the disease "gets ya." He said, "You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's. So… so I've been… I've been thinking about the mortality of it."
Michael, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's aged 29 and has since becoming a leading campaigner for more research into the illness, declared in December 2021 he did not fear death. He told AARP magazine, "I'm really blunt with people about cures."
"When they ask me if I will be relieved of Parkinson's in my lifetime, I say, 'I'm 60 years old, and science is hard. So, no.' I am genuinely a happy guy. I don't have a morbid thought in my head - I don't fear death. At all."
