After struggling in silence for over a decade, actress Emma Caulfield revealed in a new Vanity Fair interview that she is living with multiple sclerosis (MS).
A progressive disease that damages the central nervous system, symptoms of MS can include numbness, speech impairment, blurred vision, severe fatigue, and altered muscular coordination.
The WandaVision star, 49, said that she was diagnosed in 2010 after experiencing unusual numbness on the left side of her face. An MRI revealed the diagnosis, which Caulfield described as “a kind of nightmare.”
“I had a missed call from the doctor’s office, so I called back…And he was like: ‘You have MS.’ It was like an out-of-body experience,” Caulfield told the publication. “I’m like, ‘No, that’s not possible. What are you talking about?’ He was very matter-of-fact about it. ‘Well, you can get a second opinion…’ It was literally a kind of nightmare. I was like, ‘Am I dying? How bad? What’s happening?’ I was so overwhelmed and pretty hysterical.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Despite the initial shock, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum reassured fans that she’s “okay right now” in her MS journey.
“It’s a weird thing to say when you’re given a diagnosis like that, but truthfully, my attitude is not crumbling under the fear of ‘what if’ or ‘what can’ or ‘what has’ for other people. I just have to keep going,” she added.
Caulfield Shares Why She’s Revealing Diagnosis a Decade Later
Disney+
Although Caulfield was initially driven to keep her MS diagnosis private in fear of being excluded from future roles due to ableism, the actress says she decided to finally share her story so that she’s no longer hiding the diagnosis from her six-year-old daughter.
“I’m so tired of not being honest. And beyond that, my daughter has changed my perspective, as I think anybody who is a parent can attest. I know that she has a 30% greater chance of coming down with this, just luck of the draw for her. She’s six. She’s just started first grade…It got me thinking about her and how full of joy and active she is, and she’s just such a remarkable little creature,” Caulfield gushed.
But Caulfield admits that she feels like she hasn’t done everything she can for her daughter, whom she shares with her husband, Mark Leslie Ford.
“I’m not actually doing everything I can for her because I have my mouth shut. If I have a platform at all, I should be using it,” she said. “Even if it affects my ability to get work…It’s better for me to at least be vocal about this and be out there to try to help the MS Foundation and other groups who are doing research.”
More information on the MS Foundation can be found on its website.
