More than a dozen years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis — and a year after going public with that diagnosis — Emma Caulfield Ford says that she’s been “very, very fortunate” so far with her experience with the disease.
Caulfield Ford’s MS symptoms have been very mild, with occasional sensitivity to heat, stress, and noise, but none of the debilitating flareups other people living with MS experience, as she told People in a recent interview.
“But I’m also aware that, with MS, this could all change tomorrow,” she added.
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis — the same disease her late father had — in the summer of 2010 as she filmed the TV series Gigantic. MS is a chronic disease in which the myelin — the fatty tissue protecting nerve fibers — is destroyed and lesions of scar tissue form in its place, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Symptoms of MS can include muscle weakness, fatigue, dizziness, loss of sensation, hearing loss, speech problems, and trouble with coordination.
In Caulfield Ford’s case, it’s difficult to differentiate signs of MS from signs of aging. “I’m like, ‘My back’s a little sore today. Is that MS or is that because you turned 50?’” she said. “And I don’t know.”
But a recent MRI series revealed no active lesions, indicating that the WandaVision actor’s MS has not progressed. These days, she’s continuing her work — with an upcoming role in the Marvel series Agatha: Darkhold Diaries — while spending quality time with husband Mark Ford and daughter Knightley and looking after her health. She avoids heat and the sun, stretches regularly, and works out every day on her Power Plate exercise machine.
“I’m stable — and I’ve made it a huge priority to do things so I stay that way,” she said. “I feel quite good, and that’s good news.”