Michael J. Fox, the Meds, and Me

Michael J. Fox was my childhood hero.   I loved Family Ties and  his movies.  I actually sold several first edition comic books to fund multiple viewings of Back to the Future in the theater.  I wrote him a fan letter once and received a personalized, autographed photograph of Fox – the best piece of mail I received as a kid.  I was an aspiring performer, and his success represented my dreams.  It was also cool that we both grew up as nomadic military dependents.

So, the coincidence that Michael J. Fox and I are on the same Parkinson’s medication today is not lost on me.  I would never compare my speech struggles and a Parkinson’s-like symptom to his long time struggle with the disease. But, it has been encouraging to see how he has turned his struggle into an inspiring fight for a cure. 

Recently, I read Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, the follow-up book to Fox’s autobiography, Lucky Man.  It’s insightful to read his thoughts, responses, and experiences on the same medication I am taking.  The average age of someone taking it is 77, so hearing his much younger perspective is helpful.  Fox was diagnosed at 30.  He is 51 today.   I will turn 42 this week. 

Fox created The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which is now the world’s largest private funder of Parkinson’s disease research, investing nearly $179 million to research to date.  In the book, Fox talks about the politics he has been thrust into in his search for a cause, his work, his family, and his faith.  Fox’s wife is Jewish, and they are raising their family in the Jewish traditions.  Fox says he does not believe in any particular orthodoxy, but he does believe in a higher power.  He says, “Faith tells me I am not alone.”  He has been quoted in interviews as saying, “There is a God, and it’s not me.”

In my personal struggle these past two years, my faith in Jesus Christ has most assuredly provided the strength, courage, and community I have needed.  In my faith, I know I am never alone (Matthew 18:20).  The drowsiness the medication causes is bothersome and frustrating.  It’s scary that there is something chemically wrong with my brain, and if I try to lessen my medication dosage or go off schedule, the speech problem comes back.  And, there’s the fear that I could develop other symptoms of the disease and the medication could lessen its effectiveness.  But, throughout, I have felt cared for, loved, and supported.  Plus, I have continued to have the strength to do the work Christ calls me to do.

This Friday, on my 42^nd birthday, I will leave on a ministry impact trip to Haiti.  This will be my ninth international mission trip, the second to Haiti since the 2010 earthquake.  The week after I return, I will transition from one Parkinson’s medication to another to try to see if a similar but different drug will have less energy-draining impact.  For a brief period, I will be on two of these medications. 

Michael J. Fox is an awesome example of one of my strongest held beliefs -- we cannot always control our circumstances, but we can control how we respond to them.  He has responded to his personal struggle with grace, humility, and purpose.  On the Haiti trip, my greatest desire is to care for and impact others, with the realization that I need a little more care and rest myself these days.  I saw that balance in Michael J. Fox’s story, and we all could learn a lot from him. It’s pretty cool when your childhood hero becomes your adult hero. 

Back to the Future is still one of my favorite movies of all time. 

Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”