Christina Applegate has revealed that she is now largely confined to her bed, five years after she was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis.
In an interview with People magazine before the release of her memoir, the 54-year-old actor said she spends a lot of her days in bed due to the pain that comes with movement.
Applegate told People that she still takes her 15-year-old daughter, Sadie, to school as it has become her “favourite thing to do”.
“It’s the only time we have together by ourselves,” she said. “I tell myself, ‘Just get her there safely and get home so you can get back into bed.’ And that’s what I do.”
MS is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system begins to attack the sheath that protects nerve fibres, making it difficult for the brain to communicate with the rest of the body. It often makes it more challenging to walk and move, and for some leads to paralysis in the legs.
The disease, which predominantly affects women, is rarely fatal but lowers life expectancy by five to 10 years, on average.
Applegate gained fame as a child actor in the hit sitcom Married With Children. Her new memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, includes her memories of growing up in Los Angeles and watching her mother, the actor Nancy Priddy, struggle with heroin addiction and multiple abusive partners.
“My life isn’t wrapped up with a bow,” Applegate said. “People’s lives, sorry for lack of a better term, fucking suck sometimes. So I’m being as honest and raw as I possibly can.
“We all have come from somewhere, some places more painful than others, and it’s what you do with it, I guess. This is not an inspirational book, by any means. But it can inspire.”
Applegate has spoken previously about the impact of her condition on her daughter: “I see her look at me when I’m in bed and can’t quite move, or I want to go say goodnight to her in her room, but I can’t quite get down the hallway for whatever reason that my legs aren’t working that day … mommy can’t do all the things that she used to be able to do, and I see it in her eyes. I see it.”
In 2008 Applegate underwent a bilateral mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
She is now largely focused on voice acting and hosts a podcast about MS, MeSsy, with her friend and fellow actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has the condition.
The Guardian will run an extract from Christina Applegate’s memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, on 28 February
