"Hellboy" actress Selma Blair turned to Instagram on Saturday to reveal to the world that she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
What began as a caption lauding costume designer Allisa Swanson on Netflix's upcoming sci-fi series "Another Life" quickly revealed itself to be so much more as Blair expounded on all the ways that Swanson assists her with the minutiae of getting dressed.
"She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself," Blair explains before revealing why. "I have #multiplesclerosis."
Blair went on to share that she is currently suffering from an exacerbation _ or flare-up _ of the disease, which she was diagnosed with on Aug. 16.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that sparks the immune system to attack the protective myelin sheath covering the nerves. The resultant damage disrupts the body's ability to communicate with itself.
An exacerbation can last for days, weeks or months in the relapsing-remitting form of MS. Blair said she's had symptoms of the currently incurable condition for 15 years.
"I am disabled," the actress stated. "I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken GPS."
"But we are doing it," Blair continued. "And I laugh and I don't know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best."
The post from the "Cruel Intentions" actress, captioning a selfie from a costume fitting earlier in the week, spurred an outpouring of support from friends and fans alike, garnering more than 90,000 likes and almost 7,500 comments.
Representatives for Blair did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment Monday morning.
