Let’s gear our attention to a very talented, beautiful, but most of all strong Selma Blair, who is currently battling MS.
Despite the extreme discomforts she is, unfortunately, dealing with, she has managed to continue working, stay positive, bravely spread her message, and raise awareness.
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Selma has been very open with the public about her experience with MS, ever since her diagnosis.
In August of 2018, Selma was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis , after suffering with symptoms since 2011.
Doctors brushed off her complaints of fatigue, pain, and dizziness, telling her that these symptoms were likely just a result of being a constantly on-the-go single mother.
MS is an autoimmune disease that targets the central nervous system.
More specifically it attacks myelin , the protective layer that covers the nerves themselves.
As a result, it causes inflammation, that presents itself as symptoms such as imbalance, speech, fatigue, numbness in certain areas of the body, pain, difficulty walking, weakness, tremors, and other internal bodily dysfunctions.
MS can also lead to depression, bipolar disorder — and in women, some hormonal influences.
So, needless to say, it’s a very unpleasant experience, and dealing with flare-ups can be debilitating.
Selma bravely walked the red carpet, cane in hand, not letting her illness get in the way.
She described her time at the Oscars on Instagram to have given her “life,” and thanked everyone who supported the challenges she has been going through.
She was interviewed by “Good Morning America” about her diagnosis.
She explained what it was like to tell her son about the diagnosis, and what it’s like to give into a body that was losing control.
Ever since opening up about her diagnosis, she has been actively more open on social media about her flare-ups.
What she is going through sounds like a nightmare, but we are glad that she is able to share her experience with us, providing awareness for people that don’t know much about it, and sharing support and empathy for others going through something similar.
She shared this throwback on Instagram a day ago.
“A beautiful summer night in Miami,” she captioned the photo of herself having dinner, adding: “My flare was already hitting. I didn’t know what was happening.”
“Under the table my leg was dead,” she wrote.
“I couldn’t stay awake and my right hand couldn’t find my mouth,” she continued,
“But I was happy”.
“My son is asleep next to me. I hear his breathing,” she wrote.
“That of a tender soul, a young boy who will wake full of energy. I am going to curl up next to him. Cause that is what this wonderful life can bring. The now. The now I love.”
In another Instagram post of herself in the gown she wore to the Oscars, she revealed something even more heartbreaking.
She shared in the comments that she has been suffering through a flare-up for the past eight months.
“I am still 8 mos in a flare,” she wrote.
“It’s a drag. Literally.”
Selma also replied to some of the commenters, adding that her “aggressive” MS “has not remitted.”
MS flare-ups can last days, weeks, or months, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“However, if there’s a new area of damage due to inflammation, then the flare results in symptoms that could take months to heal,” said Amit Sachdev, MD, associate medical director for the department of neurology and ophthalmology at Michigan State University.
It is unclear what course of treatment Selma is going through, but she definitely seems to be in the thick of a flare-up.
If she has been enduring this now, for more than eight months, we can only hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is closer than it was.
Although Selma is going through a very rough time, she makes it clear that she is still happy, and living life the best that she can.
“I got places to go! Sometimes I can’t do it on my own two feet. Sometimes I have to sit down and roll with the punches,” she wrote in an Instagram caption .
We all deeply appreciate how courageous she has been, opening up publicly about her struggles.
We hope that soon, her symptoms will lessen and things will start to get easier for her.
