Selma Blair shared an update on her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), more than seven years after revealing her diagnosis.
Speaking to Stellar on Saturday, November 22, Blair, 53, confirmed she had been relapse-free for a “couple of years” and shared her gratitude that her condition was not worsening.
“That, of course, means the world to me that I’m not, at this moment, accumulating more damage in my brain. I have also made a lot of strides with the vibe of neuroplasticity,” she told the outlet.
Blair continued, “I’m very, very lucky. Everyone’s experience with MS is different. I think I do have a certain place [to speak publicly]. My big mouth likes to see what I can do about stigma.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, MS is “a disease that causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves. Multiple sclerosis can cause numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and other symptoms.”
The Cruel Intentions star publicly shared her MS diagnosis in October 2018 via an emotional Instagram post.
At the time, Blair shared a mirror selfie and wrote about a wardrobe fitting for her Netflix sci-fi drama, Another Life.
“I was in this wardrobe fitting two days ago. And I am in the deepest gratitude. So profound, it is, I have decided to share,” Blair wrote. “The brilliant costumer #Allisaswanson not only designs the pieces #harperglass will wear on this new #Netflix show , but she carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself. I have #multiplesclerosis.”
“I am in an exacerbation,” she continued, adding her symptoms were worsening at the time. “By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understanding producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps. 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.”
Blair went on to share details of her difficult health experience in order to give hope to others battling something similar and thanked those supporting her.
“I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others. And even to myself,” she added. “You can’t get help unless you ask. It can be overwhelming in the beginning. You want to sleep. You always want to sleep. So I don’t have answers. You see, I want to sleep. But I am a forthcoming person and I want my life to be full somehow. I want to play with my son again. I want to walk down the street and ride my horse. I have MS and I am ok. But if you see me, dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up. It takes a whole day for me alone. Thank you and may we all know good days amongst the challenges.”
Last month, Blair opened up about how doctors dismissed her early symptoms of MS before she was ultimately diagnosed with the disease.
“I was diagnosed with relapsing limiting MS in 2018. It turned out I probably had juvenile MS as my first optical neuritis was when I was about seven, which left me with a lazy eye from nerve damage,” Blair said at the Flow Space Women’s Health Summit. “But there were a lot of things missed my whole life.”
Blair recalled that she experienced consistent pain, fatigue and neurological problems — all of which were overlooked when she was younger.
“I had CAT scans as a kid, and I had doctor visits, and I stayed in hospitals for weeks at a time,” Blair said. “I’d have fevers, I have pain, endless, bone crushing fatigue that I still do have. And my mom would say, why can’t you give her an MRI? And they’re like, ‘Oh, she doesn’t need it. She’s probably getting her period.’”
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