Earlier today, I went to the Kendall Square Cinema to see “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, the film documents Fox’s ongoing battle with Parkinson’s Disease which has now afflicted him for more than half his life.
Fox, who turns 62 next month, is now in an advanced stage of the disease in which he is now subject to frequent falls resulting in multiple broken bones and surgeries. There is a scene where he is walking on 5th Avenue in New York City and he falls to the horror of a woman passing by. Without missing a beat he says, “I’ve fallen for you.” To borrow a phrase from Lou Gehrig’s book, Michael J. Fox is the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.
The greatest source of his fortune is Tracy Pollan, his wife of 35 years and their four children. When Fox learned he had the disease she told him, “In sickness and in health.” Talk about marrying the right woman. Having a loving family as part of one’s support network is invaluable. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt to have financial resources.
Sadly, not everyone with Parkinson’s (or for that matter many other terminal diseases) is so blessed thus making the battle that much more arduous. How many afflicted with Parkinson’s suffer in desolation and isolation? I think it would be fair to say that absent these blessings Michael J. Fox would have left this Earth long ago.
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