{"id":10730,"date":"2021-02-09T15:41:04","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T15:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=10730"},"modified":"2021-02-10T15:34:17","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T15:34:17","slug":"michael-j-fox-on-optimism-and-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/winter-2021\/michael-j-fox-on-optimism-and-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael J. Fox \u2026 On Optimism and Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"

R<\/span>emaining optimistic when afflicted by Parkinson\u2019s disease for over half of your life, on a difficulty scale of one to 10, is likely to be a 20. Just ask Michael J. Fox, actor, producer, and author, who turns 60 this year and has lived with early-onset Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) from age 29.<\/p>\n

For many of those years, Fox, with his boyish looks, winning smile, and sense of humor, has been able to meet the challenge of keeping a positive outlook. In his latest book, however, Michael J. Fox: No Time Like the Future, An Optimist Considers Mortality<\/em><\/a>\u00a0gives his candid personal account of how being optimistic when so many roadblocks are thrown in front of him is not always easy.<\/p>\n

You know Michael J. Fox no doubt as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future<\/em> trilogy, Alex P. Keaton in the 80s, the Family Ties<\/em> role as the young Republican with hippie parents, and his part as deputy mayor of New York City in Spin City<\/em>. Fox also had several guest appearances portraying Louis Canning, the attorney who also suffered a neurological condition on the Good Wife<\/em>.<\/p>\n

During his career, Fox has won five Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. All of this success is his despite battling PD for many of those years.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fox’s latest book is his next act and desire to share his personal stories of how PD has affected his life. Interlaced with anecdotes of his supportive family and cadre of special friends, the book is a must-read for anyone who would like to learn more about the disease on a personal level.<\/p>\n

Fox shares how a series of new obstacles forced him to reevaluate how he would move forward. Most frightening was discovering a tumor on his spine that required him to go through dangerous surgery to avoid paralysis. He had to learn to walk again. Following the delicate yet successful surgery, he was alone for the first time in months. He fell and shattered his shoulder. It put cracks in the armor of his optimism and challenged him to put a positive spin on life after that.<\/p>\n

Yet, Fox recounts his darkest hours as a cathartic experience of a self-proclaimed \u201ccranky man.\u201d<\/p>\n

This memoir seems to be his desire to share with the world a greater understanding of PD while at the same time a tapestry of anecdotes about his life.<\/p>\n

Known as Mike among his friends, Fox comes across as a genuinely nice guy who happened to achieve celebrity status through his acting career. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 1961, his real name is Michael Andrew Fox. The \u201cJ\u201d replaced the \u201cA\u201d when Fox registered for the Screen Actors Guild and he did not want to be the brunt of the play on words of \u201cA Fox.\u201d He chose J as a tribute to the actor Michael J. Pollard. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career at age 18.<\/p>\n

\"michael

Michael J. Fox and family (2012). Photo: Deposit Photos<\/p><\/div>\n

Fox writes of the unequivocal love he has for his four adult children, his wife Tracy Pollan, and the love they have for him. He shares how a black-and-white, Great Dane\/Lab mix named Gus entered his life, leaving Fox with the question of who was rescuing whom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t rescue Gus,\u201d Fox said. \u201cYou can argue that he rescued me, but he\u2019d be too modest to make that claim. Gus and I just found each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

His approach to life, his battle scars accumulated over the years, and even his decision to get a late-in-life tattoo of a sea turtle that, to him, symbolizes resiliency, are part of his personal story and observations about illness, health, growing older, and how we move forward.<\/p>\n

For Fox, the recent setbacks made him think, \u201cMake lemons into lemonade? Screw it \u2013 I\u2019m out of the lemonade business.\u201d Somehow, you know this born optimist might find the way back to that stand. In his latest memoir, he shares how he has resolved there really is no time like the future.<\/p>\n

About Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/h3>\n

Parkinson’s disease (PD), as described by The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke<\/a>, belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which cause unintended or uncontrollable movements of the body.<\/p>\n

The disease has existed since ancient times and was previously known as \u201cshaking palsy.\u201d The name we know today stems from the English surgeon James Parkinson who wrote about it in great detail in 1817.<\/p>\n

The precise cause of PD is unknown, but some cases are hereditary while others are thought to occur from a combination of genetics and environmental factors that trigger the disease. In PD, brain cells become damaged or die in the part of the brain that produces dopamine–a chemical needed to produce smooth, purposeful movement.<\/p>\n

The four primary symptoms of PD are:<\/p>\n