Fans concerned after Michael J. Fox falls on stage at fan expo

By 
 June 6, 2023

Concern for Michael J. Fox's health is growing after the star fell on stage at a fan expo in Pennsylvania on Sunday, although the star wasn't hurt and brushed off the mishap.

Fox was walking across the stage to greet "Back to the Future" costar Christopher Lloyd when he appeared to lose his balance.

Fortunately, he was able to engineer a soft landing on a couch that was on stage. He quickly uprighted himself to a sitting position and made light of the moment by jumping up and shouting.

He then commenced the Q&A with Lloyd and Tom Wilson after taking a moment to compose himself.

See the video

The incident can be seen in video here.

Fox, 61, has battled Parkinson's Disease since age 29 in 1991. Even before he fell, his movements walking across the stage were characteristically jerky and uncoordinated because of the disease.

In an interview in April, Fox acknowledged that the disease was getting "harder" to deal with and that he probably didn't have a lot of years left.

"Every day it's tougher," he told CBS's Jane Pauley. "But, but that's, that's the way it is."

Breaking bones

He described falling and breaking bones while trying to recover from a spinal surgery to remove a benign tumor. He ended up needing to learn to walk again after the surgery, which was complicated by his disease.

"I had spinal surgery. I had a tumor on my spine. And it was benign, but it messed up my walking," he said. "And then started to break stuff. Broke this arm, and I broke this arm, I broke this elbow. I broke my face. I broke my hand."

He said that many people with Parkinson's die from injuries related to falls, or from aspirating food while eating, which can cause pneumonia in some cases.

"[Falling on things] is a big killer with Parkinson's. It's falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia. All these subtle ways that gets ya'. You don't die from Parkinson's; you die with Parkinson's. I'm not gonna be 80. I'm not gonna be 80," he admitted.

Beating the odds

Of course, Fox has already beaten many odds, and undoubtedly has the best medical care and plenty of people around him to help when he falls or struggles.

He has now reached the age where most people develop Parkinson's, which is unusual given his young age at the time of diagnosis. His research foundation notes that most people live 10 to 20 years after a Parkinson's diagnosis.

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