Michael J. Fox's Wife Reveals How Actor's Parkinson's Disease Has Impacted Their Children... After 'Back To The Future' Star Admitted He No Longer Walks Due to 'Breaking So Many Bones'

Michael J. Fox's wife has opened up about how the star's battle with Parkinson's disease has impacted the lives of their four children, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Tracy Pollan, 65, believes they've become "better people" and more empathetic after witnessing the actor's struggles with the long-term illness.

"I do think that growing up with a parent who has a health challenge, it just brings out an empathy and protection naturally, and they've always been like that," she explained.

Last year, Pollan, who married Fox, 64, in 1988, confessed that it can sometimes be "hard" to stay optimistic while the Hollywood star continues to battle the progressive neurological disorder.

Pollan and Fox share four children: Sam, 36, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, 30, and Esmé, 24.

The Back to the Future star started to display symptoms of early-onset Parkinson's in 1991 and was diagnosed shortly after.

He went public with his diagnosis in 1998 and has been a staunch advocate for research. His foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, has raised over $100million, which has been invested into research.

RadarOnline.com revealed last month Fox can no longer walk due to "breaking so many bones."

Fox revealed he is now at a stage where he's fearful of moving in case he falls and said his vulnerability to breaking bones began during the peak of his acting career, where he was seen on screen doing everything from somersaulting over people to sliding across car bonnets.

"And that's (the point) where I break stuff, it's absolutely incredible the stuff I broke.

"In a three-year period I broke my elbow, I broke my hand, I got a big infection in my hand, and I almost lost my finger," he recalled.

Fox went on to say: "I take it easy now, I don't walk that much anymore. I can walk, but it's not pretty and it's a bit dangerous."

But Fox isn't letting his decades-long battle with the disease slow him down from achieving his professional or personal ambitions.

While he stepped back from acting in 2020 due to health challenges related to the disease, Fox recently filmed a guest arc on Apple TV's Emmy-nominated series Shrinking and is promoting his fifth book, Future Boy.

He said: "I see other people's work, and it makes me think that I might be able to find something that's for me as an actor and as a writer. And as a parent, husband, and friend, I have a lot left to do."

In Shrinking, which stars Harrison Ford, Fox played a character with Parkinson's, which marks a first for him.

"It was the first time ever I get to show up on set, and I didn't have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything," he says. "I just do it."

His approach to navigating Parkinson's, which affects his movement, speech, and coordination, remains deeply pragmatic and hopeful.

"I wake up and get the message of what the day is gonna be like, and I try to adjust to it," he said.

"I keep getting new challenges physically, and I get through it. I roll around in a wheelchair a lot, and it took some getting used to."