She’s speaking her truth and she’s doing it on her own terms. On Tuesday, for the first time, actor Selma Blair spoke about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in a candid interview with Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts. The actor first revealed the MS diagnosis in October 2018. Blair began the very heartfelt interview telling Roberts that she suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder affecting speech, due to her multiple sclerosis.
“I am doing very well,” Blair shared, continuing to explain her situation a bit more. “Being able to just put out what being in the middle of an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis is […] so my speech, I have spasmodic dysphonia right now. It is interesting to be here to say this is what my particular case looks like right now,” Blair shared.
The actor said she cried upon first hearing her diagnosis. “I had tears,” Blair said. “They weren’t tears of panic, they were tears of knowing that I now had to give into a body that had loss of control and there was some relief in that.”
.@SelmaBlair on her MS diagnosis, “I was a little scared of talking.” https://t.co/W1vUNMab63pic.twitter.com/XvWdGO30Ow
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 26, 2019
Blair had been struggling with strange symptoms prior to the diagnosis, trying as best as she could to live a normal life for her son, Arthur, 7, by “self-medicating.”
“There were times when I couldn’t take it, and I was really struggling with how I’m going to get by in life,” Blair told Roberts, going on to say she felt that she had “not being taken seriously by doctors,” explaining, “I dropped my son off at school a mile away and before I got home I’d have to pull over and take a nap. […] It was killing me. And so when I got the diagnosis, I cried with relief.”
Arthur now knows about Blair’s diagnosis. Her hope is that she can make him “feel safe [but] never responsible for me.” She added, “My son gets it, and now I’ve learned to not feel really guilty [for needing rest].”
On Sunday, Blair made waves on the red carpet at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar party, where she rocked a gorgeous pink, black and gray strapless dress — and a cane. It was a beautiful moment for Blair, who lived in her truth but didn’t let her multiple sclerosis keep her from the red carpet.
"I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy… 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."
Thank you to @SelmaBlair for proudly walking the red carpet with her cane. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XlxE2f4unk
— TV Guide (@TVGuide) February 25, 2019
What’s the prognosis for Blair? She told Roberts that her doctor is hopeful she will regain 90 percent of her abilities in the coming year — and she’s ready for her next GMA interview, thank you very much. As she quipped, “No one has the energy to talk when they’re in a flare-up, but I do because I love a camera.”
We commend Blair for her extraordinary grace during such a difficult time. She will no doubt be a huge inspiration for many people suffering with chronic illness and disability.
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