Selma Blair Reveals She’s Battling Multiple Sclerosis

Selma Blair revealed on Instagram that she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the central nervous system.

The 46-year-old actress shared the news on Saturday afternoon with her 648,000 followers on the social media platform, saying that the potentially debilitating condition has given her a new appreciation for life. As an example, she recounted a wardrobe fitting two days earlier for her new 10-episode Netflix sci-fi series, Another Life, with the experience yielding “deepest gratitude” for costume designer Allisa Swanson.

“She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself,” the post says. “I have Multiple Sclerosis.”

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The disease affects more women than men and is typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 5o. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society describes it as described as “an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.”

Blair also talked about the emotional toll the disease has taken on her.

“I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understanding producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job,” Blair said. “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.”

She went on to say that she has received “love and support” from friends and family.

“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,” she wrote. “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.”