Leaning on Loved Ones to Get Through Multiple Sclerosis
- Actress Selma Blair, 53, says her teenage son Arthur is the anchor that keeps her moving forward, sharing that motherhood gave her clarity about the severity of her relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) and the strength to keep fighting.
- She emphasizes honesty and teamwork in her relationship with her son, explaining how being transparent about her limits helped him understand her journey and become a true partner in it.
- Blair urges others in the MS community not to give up, reminding patients that finding the right treatment can take time and self‑advocacy.
Hope is what carries everyone forward, and for actress Selma Blair, 53, known for her roles in “Cruel Intentions” and “The Sweetest Thing,” her 14-year-old son Arthur is the reason she keeps moving forward on her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) journey.
“If I didn’t give birth to a child, I wouldn’t have known how severe my relapsing MS could be. I didn’t know exactly what I had had my whole life. My son gave me clarity, but it did take years to still find that. But of course, I don’t think I would’ve tried so hard if I didn’t have a son,” she explained to SurvivorNet. Read MoreView this post on Instagram
Blair continued, “I think being honest with him about what to expect, whether it was through treatment or expectations of what I could do with him, I was always pretty honest, so that he could be a teammate of mine.”
“But that all happened after he was four years old, so he had a bit of understanding.”
The Michigan-born actress, who occasionally takes to social media to express her love for her son, said she’s looking forward to spending time with Arthur and friends this summer.
“I’m the happiest. I’m the happiest by the ocean, and it’s been too long…. And I just want to be in beautiful places with beautiful people doing beautiful things,” she said.
Selma Blair Offers Inspiration For Others In The MS Community
Blair told SurvivorNet, “It took me four years after diagnosis to find the right treatment for me, and I didn’t give up even though I had to be my own advocate again and again.”
After praising advances in MS treatment, she urged patients hearing her story: “Don’t give up.”
Blair said, “Don’t give up. It’s isolating. It can be costly and scary to deal with that. And there are ways that I found through the pharma companies to help pay for it in the beginning, things that I didn’t know existed, and it’s like, ‘Who tells you all this?’ Where is the advocate that’s going to tell me how I can help pay for this, how I can find the right people, how I can find the right words to tell my doctor in the right amount of time? I don’t even know where to start.”
“So it does take a bit of patience if you’re not lucky right off the bat, but it is … I’m now on the other side of not feeling horrendous. I’m here, and I’m good, and I’ve actually made a lot of gains.”
She concluded, “So I have a lot of hope for all of us. I did not think I’d be in this spot right now, speaking clearly and able to have all this around. So patience for all of us, and thank you.”
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