Michael J. Fox Was Just Spotted In A Rare Public Appearance

Michael J. Fox has lived with Parkinson's disease for 30 years. Despite being told he had a decade left to act when he was diagnosed in 1991, Fox was able to stretch the timeline considerably, per TODAY. He continued to open doors to opportunities as he worked through symptoms like physical tremors, speaking difficulties, and stiffness of the limbs while portraying his on-screen characters. He went on to star in "Spin City" and appear on "The Good Wife," "Scrubs," and "Boston Legal," all while heading The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research with openness and positivity.

Maintaining optimism, however, has changed for the "Back to the Future" star. With the release of his fourth memoir titled "No Time Like the Future," Fox has shifted his perspective of hope and is more realistic about his Parkinson's diagnosis. "I believe in all the hopeful things I said before," he told The Guardian. "But that all seems silly when you're lying on the floor, waiting for the ambulance ... and you feel like an idiot because you told everyone you'd be fine and you're not."

This moment when he broke his arm in 2018 was admittedly a low-point for Fox. However, he made a turnaround from his dark days. He told AARP, "If you can find something to be grateful for, then optimism is sustainable." Following his decision to retire in 2020, Fox has been fairly quiet throughout the pandemic, but was recently spotted on the move in Santa Monica.

Despite keeping out of the public eye after announcing his retirement in 2020, Michael J. Fox was spotted in a rare outing at a celebrity hot-spot March 12. The actor had dinner with friends at Giorgio Baldi, according to Hollywood Life. Fox left the restaurant using a cane and had assistance from a friend while getting into his car.

Fox told "CBS Mornings" co-host Nate Burleson in 2021 about having difficulty with some basic tasks like going out to dinner, saying at times he uses a wheelchair. "I have a hard time getting to a restaurant and up the stairs to where my family's eating, perhaps, at a dinner," he shared. "But then I'm there with my son and my three daughters and my wife, and friends of ours. And it's just like, that's great."

In 2021, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research partnered with the Shake It Up Australia Foundation to further progress toward a cure and helpful therapies for those diagnosed. In a statement shared with the Daily Mail Australia, the actor offered hope: "In the quest to cure Parkinson's, we're absolutely certain we are the tip of the spear." As for his personal journey, Fox noted in an interview with AARP that at the age of 60 while living daily with Parkinson's, "I love my life, I love my wife, I love my kids ... I'm really lucky and I try to spread that luck around."