Selma Blair Opens Up About Her ‘Proudest Moments’ As A Parent With MS

By Corey Atad. Published: 24 Jul 2019 9:12 AM Last updated: 24 Jul 2019 9:17 AM

Selma Blair. Photo: Carter Smith for People

Selma Blair has walked a long, hard road since her multiple sclerosis diagnosis but thankfully she’s had her son by her side for the journey.

The 47-year-old actress is on the cover of the new issue of People, and in it she opens up about the disease and the pride she has in her eight-year-old son Arthur.

“He’s had to endure a lot; he’s seen a lot,” Blair says of her son, noting that he has had to watch her fall down stairs and run to the bathroom when she’s sick.

She says that Arthur has remained completely positive through it all, telling her, “Mommy’s not sick. Mommy’s brave.”

“He said, ‘I love when you come to school because you make the kids laugh and you answer all their questions,’” Blair recalls.

“I explain what’s happening and that my voice doesn’t hurt, and we have really decent exchanges,” she says. “I had no idea Arthur was proud of that. I thought, I’m probably an embarrassment, but to know I’m not was one of my proudest moments.”

MS hasn’t kept Blair from playing sports with her son, either.

“We play dodgeball, but I don’t dodge because that could be so dangerous,” she says. “Maybe in the future, for sure, but I don’t move side to side perfectly, and so I get to just hit him and then he throws it back to me, really chivalrously. And then I get to hit him again, and he thinks it’s amazing.”

In the interview, Blair also reveals how some of her famous friends have helped make sure she is well fed.

“I get weekend meal packs like I’ve never feasted on before from Reese Witherspoon, from Constance Zimmer, and so many people I don’t even know through Sarah [Michelle Gellar]. Her friends are just doing this to feed me and Arthur,” she says.

As for her acting career, Blair has no plans to quit, and even says that she has been approached with more roles since going public with her diagnosis.

“I’m so grateful. The problem is that I have f**king MS, so I can’t do it all,” she says. “To have people believe in you gives you so much more strength than I realized.”