Actress Christina Applegate has lost the ability to walk without a cane following her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS).
In an interview with The New York Times, Applegate, 50, explained how to film the final season of the Netflix series dead to me was the “hardest thing” she had ever had to do.
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“This is the first time anyone is going to see me as I am,” Applegate told The New York Times. “I gained 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I’m very aware of all of this.
The Emmy-winning actress revealed her MS diagnosis last year; MS is a degenerative autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. There are a myriad of symptoms, ranging from muscle stiffness to dizziness and bladder problems.
Symptoms vary from person to person and in degrees of severity. It is a lifelong disease with no known cure.
“It has been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people I know who also have this condition,” Applegate tweeted in 2021. “It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road goes on. Unless some asshole blocks it.
For Applegate, filming the new season of dead to me — a comedy-drama in which she plays Jen, a widowed real estate agent — was no small feat. She decided to fully participate in the production despite her condition as she felt she had an “obligation” to the story and her colleagues on set.
Applegate struggled to work as hard or as long as she previously could, especially in the heat. She had difficulty descending the stairs in her trailer and often had to use a wheelchair on set. Some days Applegate couldn’t work at all.
Thanks to some savvy camera blocking (and the help of a sound technician and a longtime friend who lifted her legs for some scenes), the season was over.
The New York Times claimed that Applegate disease is “almost invisible” on screen.
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Applegate told the outlet that she wishes she had paid more attention to the warning signs of MS, including dizziness, tingling and numbness in her extremities before diagnosis.
Although she claims to have cured her illness, she did not accept it.
“Acceptance? No. I will never accept that,” she said. “I’m pissed.”
Still, she said she hopes fans of the show can “get through” her change in appearance and enjoy the final season of Dead for me.
“I hope people can move on and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls,” she said.
Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with around 90,000 people living with the disease, according to the MS Society of Canada. On average, according to the organization, 12 Canadians are diagnosed with MS every day, most of whom are between the ages of 20 and 49.
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