In October 2018, Selma Blair revealed her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis (MS) and since then, she has been sharing her experience with the autoimmune disorder that damages the nerves.
Recently, she shared one early, alarming MS symptom that made her realized that there is something wrong with her body.
In February 2018, Blair experienced that symptom while she was set to walk in a New York Fashion Week show for designer Christian Siriano, she revealed in a recent interview with Town & Country.
She noticed numbness in one of her legs on the runway. She had similar symptoms before, but she did not think they were significant. However, it was different for her this time.
The 48-year-old actress told the magazine, “It was on that runway, with the thrill of walking in the show, that I suddenly lost feeling in my left leg. But I was on a runway and thinking, What do I do?”
In February, Blair shared some images of that night in the 2018 fashion show on her Instagram page. She revealed that she noticed her leg was numb. At the time, she wrote, “When I first stepped out. I couldn’t feel the ground or how to lift my left leg. My brain was trying to compute. As I walked the runway, stunned.”
In August 2018, Blair was diagnosed with MS. She was experiencing a few symptoms for years that she attributed to other conditions. However, it was not until her doctor found lesions on her brain via an MRI scan. Numbness is one of the common symptoms of MS.
In October 2018, Blair took to Instagram to make her diagnosis public. She wrote, “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.”
In February 2019, the actress made headlines when she appeared at the Vanity Fair Oscars party with her cane. Talking about that party, Blair told Town & Country, “It was a no-brainer, and there was no choice.”
“I hadn’t been on a red carpet for so long, and now I was coming,” she continued. “I knew, since my diagnosis, people might be watching. I didn’t know if I would be forgotten about and be the last one on the red carpet.”
The Brown’s Requiem star told the magazine, “I’ve been made up by some of the most famous makeup artists since I started acting, and I’ve felt so transformed by their makeup that I really did become a different person.”
“It was a superpower to me, and I mean this,” she added. “Makeup is not trivial to me. If anything moves the needle for me in my life—even before my diagnosis or challenges—it is my gorgeous war paint.”
“I don’t mind if my muscles get caught at the intersection of a slow brain signal. I just want those words to come from lips covered in Chanel gloss.”
Blair also said she now feels “very comfortable” in her body, which she attributes to “now making a deeper positive connection with it.”
She said, “I am fascinated by this body and this life. I am humbled and pleased to be an inspiration for people.” The article was published on Health.
