Michael J. Fox, famed for his optimism and tirelessactivism around Parkinson’s disease, is in a playful mood on a recent day in New York. “I’m rocking and rolling,” says the star, who just finished playing air guitar during a shoot for PEOPLE’s Kindness cover, on stands now.
But the past year brought new hurdles. “It got worse,” Fox says matter-of-factly. “I broke my cheek, then my hand, then my shoulder, had a replacement shoulder put in and broke my [right] arm, then I broke my elbow. I’m 61 years old, and I’m feeling it a little bit more.”
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While Parkinson’s affects Fox’s movement, those around him say the injuries don’t necessarily mean his disease is progressing any faster. He got an infection after surgery for his broken hand, and temporarily not being able to use the hand led to balance issues and falls. He admits the painful incidents put a dent in his sunny outlook. “I was never really a cranky guy, but I got very cranky and short with people,” he says. “I try to nip it in the bud. I always think of these aides who work with me. And I often say to them, ‘Whatever I say, just imagine I said “please” at the beginning and “thank you” at the end. Just take a second and absorb that I might have said that if I was more myself, but I didn’t, so I apologize.’ "
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His recovery has provided an emotional lift. “Just now,” he says, “I’m coming through where the last of my injuries are healing up; my arm is feeling good. Life is interesting. It deals you these things.” Now, he says, “the whole mission is:Don’t fall down.So whatever works to not fall down, whether it’s a walker or a wheelchair, a cane, a guy with a belt around my waist holding onto it — I use all those tools.”
Even through the most difficult of times, Pollan, 62, says her husband of 34 years is “one of the most kind people I’ve ever met.” She credits how he was raised, noting that he “almost always looks at the situation and at the people involved and thinks about others before he thinks about himself.” Fox appreciates more than ever the resilience he learned from his late, “spectacular” mother and his father, William, who died in 1990. As military kids (William served 25 years in the Canadian forces), Fox and his four siblings looked out for one another — and Phyllis was the glue that kept the family together. “Army wives are masters of adaptation,” he says. “They just know how to approach a new situation, get the house together, get the schools set up, get a job on the side — because military salary is nothing. As kids, we didn’t get it. Now I get it.”
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Fast-forward to 1995. Fox, married and expanding his family with Pollan, was shootingThe American PresidentwithMichael Douglasand directorRob Reinerwhen his twins were born. “I said to Rob, ‘I’ve got to go.’ He said, ‘We have scenes to shoot!’ I said, ‘I don’t know what to tell you, Rob. I’ve got to go.’ And he let me go. He could’ve stopped me, but he let me go be with my wife and kids.”
As he leaves this difficult year behind, Fox appears more determined than ever to put the spotlight back on a new chapter of possibilities. “It’s been a struggle, but I’m happy,” he says. “I say that because I hope on some level people can find happiness in spite of what they’re going through.”
source: people.com
