Emma Caulfield Ford opened up about her diagnosis and living with multiple sclerosis during an interview Vanity Fair which was published on Tuesday.
The 49-year-old actress sat down for an extensive conversation and talked about how living with the condition has affected her professional productions and personal life.
The Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress began the interview by reminding her of the first time she became aware of the effects of multiple sclerosis.
Opening up: Emma Caulfield Ford opens up about her diagnosis and living with multiple sclerosis during an interview with Vanity Fair released Tuesday
Caulfield Ford stated, “In 2010, I was working on Marti Noxon’s Gigantic and before I started this job, I woke up one morning and felt like the left side of my face had a million ants crawling on it.”
She added, “I went to my acupuncturist, and he was like, ‘I don’t know, man. Maybe you have Bell’s palsy?” … Even when I was with the neurologist, he would say, “Yeah, it honestly looks like Bell’s palsy. I was under a lot of pressure.”
The performer noted that the effects of the disease began to appear during a particularly turbulent period of her life.
She said, “This was literally the year of hell for me.” There was a lot going on. Really bad things in personal life. So I said, “Yeah, maybe that’s it.”
Through this: the performer indicated that the effects of the disease began to appear during a particularly turbulent period of her life. seen in March
The actress added that there are a lot of things going on. Just a streak of, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I was under tremendous pressure. Could it be the thing that caused this? …there is no way to know any of that.
Then Caulfield Ford noticed that she had been told she had multiple sclerosis in a surprising way.
She remembers: ‘I got a missed call from the doctor’s office, so I called again. I’m just like, “What’s up?” I had five minutes or whatever. And it was like: “You have MS.” Just like this. It was like an out-of-body experience.
“I like,” said the performer, “No, that is not possible. ‘ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ It was so real about it. ‘Okay, you can get a second opinion.’
Caulfield Ford immediately went on to express her concern for her health after receiving the call.
She said, ‘It was literally kind of a nightmare… It turned out to be a big thing. Then I said, ‘I have to go to work now.’ What do I do?’
Out of nowhere: Caulfield Ford later noticed that she had been told she had multiple sclerosis in a surprising way. She was seen in a 2003 episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer
The artist, whose father also had multiple sclerosis, noted that she had to do her best to deal with the effects of the condition.
MS has been in my domain for a very, very long time… I knew enough to be like, “Oh, my God.” I’m trying to keep my bones together and I have to get back to work. So this was my first experience with really staying calm and showing up and just doing my job.
Caulfield Ford recalled that although she tried to keep the case private, many of her friends and collaborators noticed its effects.
She said, “There were so many inconsistencies that everyone around me was like, ‘Basically, we think [MS] It is our best guess. “
The actress then stated that after she started managing her condition, she made a conscious decision to focus more on her personal and professional life.
She remembered, “By the time I got my second MRI, I was like, ‘I’m not going to live my life like I had something terrible. I will do what I need to do to take care of myself. But I will not live in fear.”
Moving On: The actress stated that after she started managing her condition, she made a conscious decision to focus more on her personal and professional life; seen in april
Caulfield Ford added, “I love working. I don’t like not working. I’ve always been kind of a working bee. I thrive on it.”
Then she said, “I didn’t want to give anyone the opportunity not to hire me. There are actually many reasons why people shouldn’t be hired, reasons why most actors don’t even know… I knew in my bones that if you talked about this, you’d be out of business.
The artist also spoke about working on WandaVision, where she portrayed Sarah Proctor, and expressed that the heat of the set is a challenge for her.
She remembers: “I was physically trying to keep looking and feeling normal when I was [on camera]. Everyone was melting, but it’s exponentially worse for someone with this. It becomes like, “Oh, my God, am I going to suddenly limp?”
Caulfield Ford indicated that the cast and production crew were not responsible for its challenges.
On filming: The artist also spoke about working on WandaVision, where she filmed Sarah Proctor, and expressed that the heat of the set is a challenge for her.
They did nothing wrong… they had no idea what was going on with me. They never asked me for something like, “I want to call my agent!” They ask me to sit down and chat and have a conversation. She said.
The actress then stated that she is fine and that she is determined to live as best she can while dealing with the condition.
I’m fine now. It’s strange to say when a diagnosis like this is made, but frankly, my attitude does not collapse under the fear of “what ifs” or “what could” or “what is” of others. She said.
She added, “Now that I’m open about this, I can easily promote the things the MS Society does instead of just donating money. That’s what’s talking to me now.”
Caulfield Ford concluded by talking about her six-year-old daughter, Knightley, and said she wanted to be a good role model for her child.
“I hope you only see me as someone she can look up to… I hope you see that I did my best and when the push comes, she shows up. I hope she’s proud in the end. That’s it. I hope she’s proud of me,” she said.
Caring mom: Caulfield Ford concluded by talking about her six-year-old daughter, Knightley, and said she wanted to be a good role model for her child; seen in 2019
