Michael J. Fox Reflects On Life With Parkinson’s: “I’m Not Going To Be 80”

Caroline Frost
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Michael J. Fox reflected on the challenges of living with Parkinson’s disease in an interview to be aired Sunday.

Speaking to journalist Jane Pauley for CBS Mornings, the retired actor and activist responded to her question about the progressive disorder, “At some point Parkinson’s going to call for you, isn’t it?”

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Fox replied, “Yeah, it’s banging on the door. I mean, I’m not going to lie it’s going to hurt.”

Now 61, he added that life with the illness was “getting tougher; every day it gets tougher. But, that’s the way it is and who do I see about that?

“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s. So I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it. I’m not gonna be 80. I’m not gonna be 80.”

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s aged 29 in 1991, but was able to continue working on screen until 2020. He has also dedicated his time to finding a cure for the illness through his foundation which he created in 2000, and has become the largest non-profit funder of Parkinson’s disease research in the world, raising more than $1 billion towards research projects, and improved therapies for people with the condition.

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