Selma Blair Reveals Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis in Emotional Instagram Post

The actress opened up on the social media platform that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis on Aug. 16, joining the estimated 2.3 million people living with the disease which attacks the central nervous system.

Selma Blair has revealed that she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. 

The 46-year-old actress shared the news Saturday afternoon (Oct. 20) with her 648,000 followers on Instagram, posting that she was in a wardrobe fitting two days ago for her new 10-episode Netflix sci-fi series, Another Life, and the experience led her to the "deepest gratitude" for costume designer Allisa Swanson. "She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself," she writes. "I have Multiple Sclerosis."

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the disease, which affects more women than men and is typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, is described as "an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body." With her diagnosis, Blair joins the estimated 2.3 million people living with the disease worldwide.

In her post, she continued by describing the emotional toll it has taken on her life. "I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understanding producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job," Blair said of the series on which she plays a journalist named Harper Glass in the story of an astronaut (Katee Sackhoff) on the hunt for alien intelligence. "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 said that she received her diagnosis two months ago, on Aug. 16, and since then has received "love and support" from famous friends like Jaime King, Sarah Michelle Gellar and husband Freddie Prinze Jr., Tara Subkoff and Noah Newman along with Another Life executive producer Noreen Halpern. 

"I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others. And even to myself. 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," she continued. "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." (Blair is mother to one son, Arthur.)

Blair also thanked actress Elizabeth Berkley, who suggested she see her brother, Dr. Jason Berkley, who was the physician to diagnose her after discovering lesions on an MRI. "I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of him trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve. I have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least. And I am relieved to at least know. And share."

See Blair's full Instagram post below.

 

 

 

 

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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. 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. 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. Since my diagnosis at ten thirty pm on The night of August 16, I have had love and support from my friends , especially @jaime_king @sarahmgellar @realfreddieprinze @tarasubkoff @noah.d.newman . My producers #noreenhalpern who assured me that everyone has something. #chrisregina #aaronmartin and every crew member... thank you. I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others. And even to myself. 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. And the biggest thanks to @elizberkley who forced me to see her brother #drjasonberkley who gave me this diagnosis after finding lesions on that mri. I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of him trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve. I have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least. And I am relieved to at least know. And share. -- my instagram family... you know who you are.

A post shared by Selma Blair (@selmablair) on Oct 20, 2018 at 11:23am PDT

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.