Selma Blair reveals that she is in remission from multiple sclerosis
Selma Blair’s multiple sclerosis is “in remission”.
The 49-year-old actress was diagnosed with MS – which is a chronic immune disease that affects the brain and nerves – in August 2018, and later underwent a stem cell transplant and an "aggressive" course of chemotherapy to help restart her immune system.
And now, Selma has said her “prognosis is great” thanks to her treatments.
She said: "My prognosis is great. I'm in remission. Stem cell put me in remission. It took about a year after stem cell for the inflammation and lesions to really go down."
The Cruel Intentions star has actually been doing well for the last few months, but wanted to wait to publicly announce the good news.
She added: "I was reluctant to talk about it because I felt this need to be more healed and more fixed. I've accrued a lifetime of some baggage in the brain that still needs a little sorting out or accepting. That took me a minute to get to that acceptance. It doesn't look like this for everyone.
“I have really felt unwell and misunderstood for so long that it's just, me.”
Selma added that her MS flare was difficult to deal with both physically and mentally, and said she focused on her 10-year-old son Arthur to help her get through the days.
She explained: "It's not that MS was on a path killing me. I mean it was killing me with this flare lasting so long. I was so burnt out. If there was an option to halt me, to rebalance after being hit so hard with that last flare, it's absolutely for my son. I have no desire to leave him alone right now.”
And although the actress “never really liked life” before her MS diagnosis, she has now re-evaluated her stance and has learned how to make sure she enjoys every moment.
Speaking virtually at the Discovery Plus TCA panel in support of her upcoming documentary, Introducing Selma Blair, she said: “People took great care of me. I never really liked life. I do now — strange, huh? Just because life's so weird. I was so scared in life.
To suddenly start to find an identity and a safety in me, to figure out boundaries, time management and energy. I'm having the time of my life."
- Bang! Showbiz
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