Selma Blair Posts Photo in a Wheelchair to Help Erase Mobility Aid Stigma
Update: Blair has since taken down the original photo of her in a wheelchair. In a follow-up Instagram post, she explained that, since she didn’t take the photo, she could potentially be sued. In her new post, she wrote:
So, I posted a picture with Sarah cruising my butt around Disney. It resonated with people and was kind of sad about taking down but it was kindly brought to my attention that i don’t own the photo and could be sued. And I can’t take that hassle. So I took down. Not because I was ashamed or embarrassed, but because it isn’t my picture. I am not giving up on having some recovery. Or at least getting stabilized. I am oddly grateful for the new insight I have into a chronically unpredictable body. And I found my friends to be more generous and kinder than I could have imagined… @sarahmgellar@jaime_king @constancezimmer@janeylopatypr @karenzambos and the list goes on and on. This friend, made sure my kid had the best spring break memory with all of us. And so I am grateful to mobility aids to make it possible. And the best friends to push. And to teach a kid, there is a person In the chair. I am a bit too weak to use my super awesome @the_alinker_worldall around with a kid and bad tailbone… and none of this needed an explanation. But I’m a talker ! Hahah. Love . Selma ps. Go #Detroit! And I am in a ….#wheelchair ????♀️ still me though.
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On Saturday, actress Selma Blair shared a photo of herself in a wheelchair, with her son on her lap, as her friend, fellow actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar, pushed her through Disneyland. “There is no shame in using whatever you can to get around,” Blair, who has multiple sclerosis, wrote on Instagram.
Her full post read:
When you and your son are sooooo pleased to have a #pushy BFF .#sarahmichellegellar is literally the strongest woman. Arthur weighs 50 lbs and he really digs this lifestyle????. I can stand. I can walk. Don’t worry folks. But that uses up the whole day of energy. I am still in an exacerbation so this is how I roll. I busted My tailbone or would use my #alinker, but then Arthur would have to walk and that is not how he rolls ????♀. Seriously. Thank you sarah and @jaime_king who basically saved me last week. And @reesewitherspoon who sent food for the weekend. I love you all. I mean my gratitude list goes on and on. PS. I did not know this pic was being taken. I saw it on someone’s feed. And there is no shame in using whatever you can to get around. So I am just controlling this narrative. I am not one foot in the grave.
Blair publicly announced her MS diagnosis last October. She attended this year’s Vanity Fair Oscar party with a cane, which she had customized for the event.
On Saturday’s Instagram post, followers thanked Blair for once again showing there’s no shame in using a mobility aid and sharing the reality of parenting with a chronic illness.
“THANK YOU FOR NORMALIZING MOBILITY AIDES,” one follower commented.
“Thank Selma for giving a voice to so many of us #mswarriors,” another commented. “It’s hard to stay strong and courageous while living with this unpredictable disease.”
Multiple sclerosis is a disease in which the immune system attacks myelin, the protective covering around the nerves within the central nervous system. Symptoms include fatigue, numbness, difficulty walking, weakness, vertigo, spasticity, and bladder and bowel problems. There are medications available to treat MS but there is no cure.
Since the initial post sharing her diagnosis, Blair has kept her fans and followers updated on Instagram as she adapts to her “new normal.”
“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,” Blair wrote. “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.”