Yahoo Lifestyle Selma Blair Is ‘Feeling Really Better’ After New Multiple Sclerosis Treatment: ‘I’m Back at Work’
Selma Blair walked the red carpet at the recent Elle Women in Hollywood event, wearing a chic white dress and heels. Gone were the walking cane and service dog she had often used throughout the last few years due to her multiple sclerosis.
“I started feeling really better this last year and I’m back at work and doing things so I will have things to announce,” she told me.
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Blair, who went public with her MS diagnoses in 2018, credits her improving health to a bone marrow treatment and changes in medications. She admits that she never thought her health would ever improve so drastically. “I had felt so weak and all the fogs and the movement really made it impossible to go out at night,” Blair said. “I just had no strength. I didn’t think I’d get to feel this grounded.”
Her work advocating for people with disabilities continues. “You don’t realize how much visibility matters for people until people thank you,” Blair said. “Even it’s as simple as people telling you that they appreciate the chance to feeling seen. I didn’t take that into account at the beginning. I never thought people would see themselves in me. But now that’s really important to me. … People do appreciate the change to feeling seen. I didn’t take that into account at all at the beginning. I never thought people would see themselves in me. But now that’s really important to me.”
Selma Blair presented the Norman Lear-Geri Jewell lifetime achievement award to Michael J. Fox. at the event, which can be seen on Monday’s broadcast of the 2024 Media Access Awards on PBS,.
During her presentation to Fox, Blair credited him for supporting her when she was diagnosed with MS. She recalled how the “Back to the Future” actor visited her at home, despite its lack of accessibility and provided her with encouragement.
“There was comfort in knowing there was a great human being and fellow actor who could offer some wisdom,” Blair said. “He buoyed my spirits and faith in carrying on with life. He instilled determination and the invaluable comfort and strength that comes from the generosity of another human spirit like Michael’s.”
In 1991, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 29. He publicly announced the news in 1998. Two years later, he created Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in an effort to find a cure for the disease.
Blair went on to detail Fox’s work as an advocate for advancing treatment for Parkinson’s. She highlighted how the Michael J. Fox Foundation has raised billions of dollars for research towards the disease.
“He transformed so many lives of my generation with his obvious star power and comedic brilliance,” Blair said of Fox. “And then as a human being, he proved his worth a billion times over. And he does it all with easy charm, disarming humor and his trademark sparkle and wit.”
Blair also referenced Davis guggenheim’s 2023 documentary “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” which follows Fox’s journey with his disease.
Fox accepted the award virtually. During his acceptance speech, Fox praised Norman Lear and Geri Jewell, for whom the lifetime achievement award is named after. He also urged audiences to remember that the disabled community is “a part of the world and [has] a lot to offer.”
The 2024 Media Access Awards airs Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal, followed by a broadcast on PBS SoCal Plus on Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. PT, PBS WORLD Channel on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. ET and additional local PBS Stations. The show is also available for streaming on the free PBS app.
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