Michael J Fox reveals doctors only gave him 10 years left to work - in 1991

Back To The Future star Michael J. Fox has said doctors told him he only had 10 years left to work when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991.

Fox, 55, waited seven years to publicly speak about his illness and revealed he was told he would be "pretty much disabled" at this stage in his life.

He told Haute Living magazine: "I realised it was a real awakening to me because I had been kind of keeping this secret.

"I was diagnosed 25 years ago, and I was only supposed to work for another 10 years. I was supposed to be pretty much disabled by now. I'm far from it. This is as bad as I get, and I can still go to the store and go marketing.

"I don't have expectations, but whatever happens, happens. I hope it's a good thing, and I trust it'll be a good thing..."

The Good Wife star has since founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, a non-profit organisation devoted to finding a cure for the disorder of the central nervous system.

At the time of his diagnosis Fox and his wife, Tracy Pollan, had one child but the couple have since had three more children, three daughters, including a set of twins, who have only ever known him to have Parkinson's.

He said: "They grew up with this. It's all they know, and I think if you asked them to describe me, the ninth thing they would say would be that I had Parkinson's."

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