Selma Blair Talks About Relief of Her MS Diagnosis

'There's no tragedy for me,' says the 46-year-old
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2019 10:30 AM CST
Selma Blair Talks About Relief of Her MS Diagnosis
Selma Blair arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Actress Selma Blair drew attention on the Oscars red carpet for an unusual reason: The 46-year-old was using a cane. Blair revealed last year that she had multiple sclerosis, and in an interview with Good Morning America, she talks about her current struggles and the sense of relief she felt when she was finally diagnosed. "It is interesting to put it out there, to be here to say, 'This is what my particular case looks like right now,'" said Blair. During the interview, she said her voice was shaky because she's suffering from a related neurological disorder, spasmodic dysphonia, that affects the vocal cords. Blair, though, said she was happy to show "what being in the middle of an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis is like." You can watch the interview here.

Among other things, she talks about reaching out to Michael J. Fox when she first began dropping things and experiencing other symptoms. She initially thought she might have Parkinson's, as Fox does. "He really helped me ... he gives me hope," she said. Then, doctors finally diagnosed her own condition. "I had tears," she recalls. "They weren't tears of panic. They were tears of knowing I now had to give in to a body that had loss of control, and there was some relief in that." But she also offered hope for her own prognosis, saying that while her current symptoms are severe, her doctor said she could regain 90% of her abilities in a year. Vanity Fair also is out with an interview and profile. "There's a humility and a joy I have now, albeit a fatigued joy," she tells the magazine. "There's no tragedy for me." (More Selma Blair stories.)

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