Selma Blair has always been outspoken about her journey with multiple sclerosis (MS) since October 2018, when the actress told Good Morning America she has spasmodic dysphonia, which causes spasms in the larynx, or voice box.
At the Time 100 Health Summit this week, the actress said she was concerned that people would think her health symptoms, which include difficulty speaking and moving her left leg, were the result of her drinking alcohol.
“I didn’t want people to think that I was drunk, because I have a history of that,” Blair said, laughing. “I’m sober and I’m so proud of that. So that’s really the reason. I’d rather someone think, ‘Oh, she’s going to be in a wheelchair,’ rather than that I’m up in the minibar.”
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“I was really declining more rapidly than I found acceptable,” she told a panel, which included Dr. Oz. “And I was like, ‘I’m not ruining my body—what’s left of it—why would I put this horrible drug in my body? Chemotherapy? I don’t have cancer, I don’t need it,’ but I was kind of out of options.”
According to the 47-year-old, because she was very active at the time, she also thought her pain may have been due to a pinched nerve and that her other symptoms, such as a worsening lazy eye, were simply because “human bodies are strange”.
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Blair, who has an eight-year-old son, Arthur, went on to explain that her treatment made her face her own mortality. “So I did it and I was warned and… you kind-of make your plans for death. I told my son I was doing this and he would like me cremated,” she said, managing a laugh. “I’m here though! We don’t have to worry about that.”