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Lifestyle & Human Interest

Doctors Refused To Take Actress' Symptoms Seriously Until She Collapsed Right In Front of One

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According to ABC News, actress Selma Blair (“Cruel Intentions,” “Hellboy”) started feeling poorly after the birth of her now-7-year-old son. In fact, “poorly” hardly does her condition justice.

Blair found herself exhausted by even the most minor tasks. After dropping her son off at school, she couldn’t manage the mile-long drive home without stopping for a nap.



“I was ashamed, and I was doing the best I could, and I was a great mother,” she said. “But it was killing me. …

“And I was self-medicating when he wasn’t with me. I was drinking. I was in pain. I wasn’t always drinking, but there were times when I couldn’t take it.”

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The most frustrating part was that the medical establishment did little to help Blair. E! News reported that others blamed her condition on everything from simple fatigue to a hormonal imbalance to self-serving hysterics on her part.

That all changed when she went to Los Angeles neurologist Jason Berkley, D.O., and fell over right in front of him.

“I have had symptoms for years,” Selma wrote in an Instagram post, “but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of [Jason Berkley] trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve.”

Berkley gave her a shot of steroids in her neck that alleviated some of Blair’s discomfort. Then the physician insisted on running an MRI.

The scan discovered 20 lesions dotting her brain, a sign that she had multiple sclerosis. The results should have horrified the actress.

But that wasn’t how Blair felt at all. Instead, a sense of relief washed over her.

 

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I was in this wardrobe fitting two days ago. And I am in the deepest gratitude. So profound, it is, I have decided to share. The brilliant costumer #Allisaswanson not only designs the pieces #harperglass will wear on this new #Netflix show , but she carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself. I have #multiplesclerosis . 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. 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. Since my diagnosis at ten thirty pm on The night of August 16, I have had love and support from my friends , especially @jaime_king @sarahmgellar @realfreddieprinze @tarasubkoff . My producers #noreenhalpern who assured me that everyone has something. #chrisregina #aaronmartin and every crew member… thank you. 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. 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. But if you see me , dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up. It takes a whole day for me alone. Thank you and may we all know good days amongst the challenges. And the biggest thanks to @elizberkley who forced me to see her brother #drjasonberkley who gave me this diagnosis after finding lesions on that mri. I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of him trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve. I have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least. And I am relieved to at least know. And share. ? my instagram family… you know who you are.

A post shared by Selma Blair (@selmablair) on

“When I got the diagnosis, I cried with some relief,” she said. “Like, ‘Oh, good, I’ll be able to do something.’”

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Blair said that the hardest part of the diagnosis was telling her son about it. “I always want him to feel safe, never responsible for me” she said, “but he had already seen that I was falling and doing things.”

When she finally shared the diagnosis with him, he nearly began to cry and said, “Will it kill you?” And Blair responded, “No. I mean, we never know what kills us, Arthur. But this is not the doctor telling me I’m dying.”



Amazingly, Blair’s physicians believe she has a remarkably good prognosis. “I’m very symptomatic,” she said.

“I have an aggressive MS. But the doctor I saw … he said within a year I could have — at the time he said 90 percent of my abilities back.”

While Blair still has a long road ahead of her, she is thankful to finally have answers after years of struggling to live her life.

“The doctor said, ‘Your life will forever be different,'” she said, recalling the day of her diagnosis. “And I was like, ‘Well, thank God.'”

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A graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in literature, Loren also adores language. He has served as assistant editor for Plugged In magazine and copy editor for Wildlife Photographic magazine.
A graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in literature, Loren also adores language. He has served as assistant editor for Plugged In magazine and copy editor for Wildlife Photographic magazine. Most days find him crafting copy for corporate and small-business clients, but he also occasionally indulges in creative writing. His short fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies and magazines. Loren currently lives in south Florida with his wife and three children.
Education
Wheaton College
Location
Florida
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Entertainment, Faith, Travel




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