Actor Selma Blair reveals battle with multiple sclerosis

People


Actor Selma Blair reveals battle with multiple sclerosis

By Anna Brech

7 years ago

More than two million people around the world suffer from multiple sclerosis. Now Selma Blair counts among them, as she shares a poignant post about challenges and hope on Instagram

Cruel Intentions star Selma Blair has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). 

The actor, 46, revealed that she is battling the lifelong illness in an emotional post on Instagram

Describing her symptoms, she writes: “I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps. 

“But,” she adds, “we are doing it . And I laugh and I don’t know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best”. 

MS is an illness which can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing issues with balance, vision, sensation and movement.

It does not have a cure and it can sometimes lead to serious disability, although in many cases, it’s possible to treat symptoms.

Most people are diagnosed with MS in their 20s and 30s and it’s significantly more common among women than men, according to the NHS.

Blair is currently filming the sci-fi Netflix series Another Life, and the revelation of her illness is in part a tribute to the show’s costume designer, Allisa Swanson.

 “She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself,” Blair writes.

Blair, whose films include blockbusters Legally Blonde and The Sweetest Thing was diagnosed with MS in August but has been suffering symptoms of the disease for years.

She says she was “never taken seriously” by doctors until she collapsed in front of one while struggling with what she thought was a trapped nerve (in fact, it was caused by brain lesions picked up by a subsequent MRI scan). 

The actor who has a seven-year-old son, Arthur, says her diagnosis was “overwhelming” to begin with, but she wants to encourage other MS sufferers like her to seek out help and support.

“I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others,” she writes.

“And even to myself. You can’t get help unless you ask.” 

Do you or a loved one suffer from MS? Seek help and support with MS Society

Images: Getty

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