Actress Christina Applegate has been candid about her life and condition since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), and she's since frequently spoken about it on her podcast "MeSsy" alongside Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has the autoimmune condition.
The pair recently guest-starred on Kelly Ripa's podcast Let's Talk Off Camera, where they opened up about a variety of things, from growing up on camera to their latest projects to some of the most recent developments in their lives with MS, and Applegate became choked up in the process.
During their talk, Sigler and Applegate dove into how their diagnoses played a major part in their parenting, and while sometimes it added something special to their parenting, sometimes it was "a knife to the heart."
Sigler has two sons, 7-year-old Jack and 11-year-old Beau. She's found Beau to be her "cheerleader," certain that she will "beat" her MS someday, while her seven-year-old is more concerned about what his friends' moms can do that Sigler can't.
She explained:
"My sons look at it in very different ways. My older son, he looks at me like, 'You're gonna beat this thing one day, Mom. He congratulates me all the time for how hard I work, he tells me I'm doing amazing, and he's my cheerleader."
"But my little one hates it. He's mad that I can't run like all the other moms, and he points out all the time that I walk like an old lady."
"I think it's healthy, though. I want him to be able to express himself with me. I don't want him to feel bad because of how he feels about this, because it affects our entire family."
Like Sigler's little one, Applegate was having similar issues with her teen daughter, Sadie, but unlike Sigler, Applegate was having a hard time with her daughter being so candid.
"We got in a big thing the other day. Sorry, Sadie, but it has to be said."
"She says, 'I miss who you were before you got sick.'"
Sigler and Ripa collectively sighed in empathy before Applegate continued:
"That's just like, a knife to the heart. 'Cause I miss who I was before I got sick, too. Very much so."
"Every day of my life, it's such a loss."
"See, now I'm gonna cry."
You can listen to the podcast here:
The podcast episode was shared widely on social media, especially on Facebook, and people were divided over how they felt about Applegate's experience with her daughter.
Multiple sclerosis is a troubling condition, not just for the patient, but for their loved ones around them, but it's debatable whether placing the onus on the patient by pointing out how different they used to be is in any way helpful.
Some found what Applegate's daughter said about her condition to be hurtful and apathetic.
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Others counted themselves as "lucky" because their children couldn't remember who they were before having MS.
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Some simply opened up about missing their life before MS and considered missing that life to be normal.
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Multiple Sclerosis Resources & Education/Facebook
Anyone who has an autoimmune disease or loves someone with an autoimmune disease can attest to how hard it is, especially when it's obvious how much it's taken away—like a mom not being able to run like the other moms.
But talking about the old times and what is missed is better discussed during the gentle, vulnerable moments, rather than from a place of anger and blame.
