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In late 1990, Michael J. Fox was at the top of his game and poised to take it to another level when the pinkie finger on his left hand sent him a message.
If he hadn’t already been a household name with his work in television (Family Ties, The $25,000 Pyramid, and various guest roles), his budding film career certified it.
The breakout Back to the Future trilogy was huge and his talents were frequently on display in movie houses worldwide (Teen Wolf, Bright Lights, Big City, The Secret of My Success, etc.).
But the pinkie finger, wiggling uncontrollably, was telling him that he was entering a new era of his life. The wiggle was a tremor and in 1991 at the age of 29 he was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s Disease.
Afterwards, understandably, there was a dark period for him as he dealt with the effects of the disease. But then he did a most remarkable thing. He shrugged off his denial, depression, and destructive behavior and pivoted to advocacy using his notoriety to bring awareness of PD to a wider audience.
In 2000, he created the foundation that bears his name and has since raised over one billion dollars towards seeking a cure for Parkinson’s.
Notably, Fox never wanted a large endowment for his foundation. That sends the message that this foundation is in it for the long haul. Quite the opposite. MJFF wants to be irrelevant as soon as possible because irrelevance means a cure has been found and the job is done.
