Selma Blair was ‘told to make plans for dying’ after getting diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018… but now she feels like a ‘new person’
Selma Blair ‘was told to make plans for dying’ upon getting diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018.
The actress – who is the focus of the new documentary Introducing, Selma Blair – opened up to People about her experience with chronic illness for their latest issue, telling the magazine: ‘It was a really hard time in my life.’
‘People don’t say how excruciating, emotionally, it can be to kind of prove you’re not well,’ she went on.
Better: Selma Blair ‘was told to make plans for dying’ upon getting diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018, but she is thriving now after a series of serious treatments. Seen October 14th above
Part of Selma’s mission became shedding light on the lives of people living with chronic illnesses like MS.
‘I want to tell the truth about MS,’ Blair said. ‘It is important to me that people see what living with a chronic illness is like.’
The actress’ symptoms became so severe around 2019 she was having trouble speaking and walking.
It was at that point she decided to undergo a risky two-month hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), in hopes of jumpstarting her immune system.
The complex procedure, which included an aggressive course of chemotherapy under the care of Dr. Richard K. Burt at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, seemed to be a success, leaving Blair seeing ‘huge improvements’ in her mobility and daily life.
Battle: The actress – who is the focus of the new documentary Introducing, Selma Blair – opened up to People about her experience with chronic illness for their latest issue, telling the magazine: ‘It was a really hard time in my life’
Her truth: ‘I want to tell the truth about MS,’ Blair said. ‘It is important to me that people see what living with a chronic illness is like’
Her MS is currently in remission, meaning there is no sign the autoimmune disease is progressing.
But her symptoms haven’t dissipated completely.
She told People, ‘The severe fatigue is still such a gargantuan boulder in my way’ because of how it gets in the way of her playing with son Arthur, 10.
‘I’m working on it. Little by little, I can do all these things,’ she said.
Selma added that she is able to play a sort-of football game with Arthur, joking: ‘I just get pelted with balls.’
‘I mean, I can’t say I could go running, but I can jog down to the mailbox if I were to practice a few times.’
Recovery: Her MS is currently in remission, meaning there is no sign the autoimmune disease is progressing. She’s seen October 9th above
Most of all, Blair is learning to enjoy the little things.
‘I’m trying to develop a love story with life right now,’ she told People. ‘Things are coming along for sure. I really do feel like a new person.’
The intimate documentary premiered at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, and won the Special Jury Award for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Produced by Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon and Troy Nankin, the film earned three Critics Choice Award nominations including Best Documentary Feature.
Introducing, Selma Blair is currently available in select theaters and will be released on Discovery+ Oct. 21.