Selma Blair has multiple sclerosis.
The actress, 46, revealed her diagnosis via Instagram on Saturday, writing an emotional post detailing her disabilities.
“I have #multiplesclerosis. I am in an exacerbation,” she wrote. “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 also thanked celebrity friends Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze and Jaime King for their support.
“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,” she penned. “My producers #noreenhalpern who assured me that everyone has something. #chrisregina #aaronmartin and every crew member… thank you.”
She continued: “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.”
The Legally Blonde star praised all of her supporters and doctors, giving a special shout-out to friend and fellow actress Elizabeth Berkley who “forced” her to go see a doctor: Berkley’s brother.
“Biggest thanks to @elizberkley who forced me to see her brother #drjasonberkley who gave me this diagnosis after finding lesions on that mri,” Blair wrote. “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.”
Blair said she was diagnosed in August but decided to share publicly now because of a compassionate costume designer named Allisa Swanson, with whom she’s working on her new Netflix show, 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,” she said. “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.”
This is not the first time the actress has opened up about her health. Blair celebrated two years of sobriety in June before her 46th birthday, and although she posted a celebratory photo to mark the occasion, she admitted her journey has been filled with ups and downs.
“Two years sober,” she wrote on Instagram. “Two years feeling everything and nothing. Two years of extreme gratitude and humility and grace.”
She’s also previously revealed her struggles with addiction, postpartum depression and anxiety.
“For better or for worse. I want to have hope again,” she wrote of working to overcome her anxiety and depression. “I want to thank you all for believing in me. I want to find the right work for me. And for me as a mom and as a woman who has come so far in personal ways. I want to make us all proud.”