Michael J. Fox Says 'Every Day Is Tougher' with Parkinson's Disease: 'I'm Not Gonna Be 80'
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“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s. I’m not gonna be 80,” the 61-year-old actor said on CBS Sunday Morning
Michael J. Fox is keeping his spirits high despite each day "getting harder" while living with Parkinson's disease.
In a recent interview with Jane Pauley on CBS Sunday Morning, the 61-year-old actor — who was diagnosed with the disease in 1991 — detailed how Parkinson's, an incurable degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, "is the gift that keeps on taking."
"I'm not gonna lie. It's getting harder. Every day it's tougher," Fox admitted before detailing the most difficult symptoms.
"[Falling] is a big killer with Parkinson's," he explained, noting that he has suffered two broken arms, a broken hand and broken bones in his face as a result of falls. "It's falling, and aspirating food and pneumonia – all these subtle ways that [it] gets you. You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's. I'm not gonna be 80."
Despite living with the disease for "30 plus years," Fox told Pauley that he's focused on gratitude because of how he's been able to live with Parkinson's over time.
"I recognize how hard this is for people, and I recognize how hard it is for me, but I have a certain set of skills that allow me to deal with this stuff," Fox said. "And I realize, with gratitude, optimism is sustainable."
"If you can find something to be grateful for, then you can find something to look forward to, and you carry on," he added.
Related: Michael J. Fox Says Parkinson's Disease 'Sucks' but He Has 'a Great Life': 'I Have No Regrets'
Last month, the Back to the Future star revealed that he had "a terrible year" with his health, but said that the silver lining with his disease was the groundbreaking research on Parkinson's funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
In an interview with Stat News, Fox discussed a newly published study that found that a key Parkinson's pathology can now be identified by examining spinal fluid from living patients, allowing earlier intervention.
"It's all changed. It can be known and treated early on. It's huge," said Fox, who was diagnosed at age 29.
"This is the thing," he added of the research. "This is the big reward. This is the big trophy."
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Related: Michael J. Fox Reveals Private Journey with Parkinson's Disease in Trailer for 'Still' Documentary
Fans of the actor will get to know more about Fox's health journey in his upcoming documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
Directed by Davis Guggenheim, who won an Oscar for the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, the film also tracks Fox's experience with Parkinson's disease and how he continues to work and stay positive despite the diagnosis. The film will show his "never-before-seen private journey, including the years that followed his diagnosis," per a press release.
After a screening of the documentary at South by Southwest in March, the actor described what life has been like since he went public with his diagnosis in 1998.
Asked during a Q&A how he "mobilized" people to care about Parkinson's, he responded: "I didn't have a choice," adding: "This is it. I have to give everything I have, and it's not lip service. I show up and do the best I can."
"Pity is a benign form of abuse. I can feel sorry for myself, but I don't have time for that," Fox added. "There is stuff to be learned from this, so let's do that and move on."
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie debuts on Apple TV+ on May 12.
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