Michael J. Fox: Parkinson's Disease

Michael J. Fox: Parkinson’s Disease Parkinson’s disease limits many of a person’s day-to-day activities. For example, a person who has lived with the disorder for a while cannot put on a jacket, prepare lunch, or type an email on their own. They require aid from a caregiver or nurse. The internationally famous actor, Michael J. Fox, obtained this disability at a young age and notwithstanding had many of these problems. This disease, also known as “shaking palsy,” is a common disorder that affects the central nervous system, which comprises a person’s brain and spinal cord (Abramovitz 13). It affects about one million Americans and ten million people worldwide. This disability has multiple limitations. One is the loss of fine motor skills,

How he got this disability is unknown, but there are theories. The main theory is that since three other people at his workplace got it, they might have been exposed to it at the same time. Perhaps there was a virus all of them obtained. Another possible explanation would be that they all had exposure to a toxic substance. It also could just be a coincidence that all four of them got the disease (35).

Parkinson’s affected Fox in many ways. Acting with his disability was awfully stressful, so he retired from acting (58). In an attempt to rid him of his symptoms, doctors performed brain surgery. While this was a temporary fix to his problems, it was perilous (43). He worried he would lose jobs from the disease (31-32) or his children would be targets for teasing because of it (49). He was constantly trying to hide signs of his disorder from the tabloids for fear of his diagnosis leaking (47). Consequently, he hid his disease for a long time (Apte

Nevertheless, he still found ways to cope. He told the world of his disease, therefore relieving much of his stress (Payment 50). Many friends and acquaintances were sympathetic towards him and offered support (Apte 25). Afterward, he became an advocate for finding a cure. Fox, along with other victims of the disorder testified at a U.S. Senate hearing to obtain money for research (Payment 55). To further impact the disease’s community, he established the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. One of his influences in this process was Christopher Reeve, who had also created his own foundation (76). Fox’s foundation holds an annual golf fundraiser and an annual Parkinson’s Unity Walk. They also host A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s, an annual celebrity hosted comedy event (73).

In conclusion, Parkinson’s is very hard to cope and live with. Day-to-day life is affected by it to the point where it is frustrating to both the patient and caregiver. This is what life is like for Michael J. Fox and the millions of people across the globe who struggle daily with