Selma Blair Shares Her Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis in an Emotional Instagram Post
Selma Blair has never been one to shy away from speaking her truth. Whether it’s giving the middle finger to gray-hair shamers or celebrating two years of sobriety, the actress has always been real on Instagram, and her latest emotional post is no exception. Speaking to fans on Saturday, October 20, the 46-year-old revealed that she has multiple sclerosis.
“I have #multiplesclerosis,” she wrote, sharing a selfie from the set of her new Netflix series, Another Life, and praising the show’s costume designer, Allisa Swanson, as the inspiration behind her confession. “I was in this wardrobe fitting two days ago. And I am in the deepest gratitude. So profound, it is, I have decided to share.” She went on to reveal how Swanson “carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself.”
“I am in an exacerbation,” Blair continued. “By the grace of the lord, and will power, and the understanding producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job.” The Legally Blonde star then got candid about the realities of living (and working) with MS, explaining, “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 we are doing it. And I laugh and I don’t know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best.”
The life-changing diagnosis came “at 10:30 pm on the night of August 16” from Elizabeth Berkley Lauren’s brother, Dr. Jason Berkley, who found lesions on an MRI she had previously taken. “I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of him trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve,” she explained. “I have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least. And I am relieved to at least know. And share.”
Since that day, the actress has been receiving unconditional love and support from Jaime King, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Tara Subkoff, and Noah Newman, as well as Another Life’s producers and crew members, all of whom she thanked in her post before concluding with a message of empowerment.
“I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others. And even to myself,” she declared. “You can’t get help unless you ask. It can be overwhelming in the beginning. You want to sleep. You always want to sleep. So I don’t have answers. You see, I want to sleep. But I am a forthcoming person and I want my life to be full somehow. I want to play with my son again. I want to walk down the street and ride my horse. I have MS and I am ok.”
“But if you see me, dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up,” she continued. “It takes a whole day for me alone. Thank you and may we all know good days amongst the challenges.”
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(photo via Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Netflix)
