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Michael J. Fox in Bhutan
The Micheal J. Fox foundation has raised nearly $140 million for Parkinson's research
By: Mark La Prairie
Actor Michael J. Fox has just been in the Kingdom of Bhutan to shoot a television special on the topic of 'optimism' for ABC Television, says Mark La Prairie.
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Michael J. Fox is inspired by Bhutan's development philosophy of 'Gross National Happiness', which places holistic individual and social well-being above mere economic and material gain. The philosophy can include organized days for school kids to pick up garbage.
Michael J. Fox starred in the highly successful series of 'Back to the Future' movies, and the television series 'Family Ties' and 'Spin City', for which he won three Emmy awards. He semi-retired from acting in 2000, nearly a decade after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder. He now works tirelessly with his foundation, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has raised nearly $140 million for Parkinson's research.
The crossing of our paths originated when he was in an airport lounge in the middle of the night in Delhi while in transit from New York waiting for an early morning flight to Bhutan. He was reading the book, 'Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan', by my friend Jamie Zeppa. It recounts Bhutan in the late 1980s when Jamie Zeppa and I were both volunteer teachers from Canada, posted to schools in villages in the east of the country. Another close friend and World Bank colleague, Susan Hirshberg, had left Bhutan the day before and was waiting for a flight to London, seated across from him in the same Delhi airport lounge... and reading the same book. They started chatting about Bhutan, and Susan suggested to Michael and his producer, Nelle, that they get in touch with me when in Thimphu, as she knew I was there on one of my regular work visits.
A day later, as I was leaving my hotel's restaurant after breakfast, I saw Michael and Nelle, along with his assistant, Nina, sitting at a nearby table. I stopped to greet them and said, "You must be Nelle" (...probably the first time someone DIDN'T say, "You must be Michael J. Fox"!). Nelle said, "You must be Mark...come join us". We chatted while they had breakfast, and I suggested some places of interest to visit in Thimphu, as they had a free day after their journey from New York the day before, and prior to starting filming for the documentary the next day.
I finished my meetings early that day, and caught up with them as they visited the local vegetable market. We arranged to have dinner that evening, where we were joined by Nancy Strickland, a Canadian who has lived in Bhutan for most of the past 22 years, and Tshewang Dendup, a Bhutanese journalist and actor who starred in the 2006 film 'Travellers and Magicians'. Tshewang is also featured in Jamie's book as the college student she later married.
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Michael J. Fox and his crew left Thimphu the next day for a two-day visit to Punakha, a historic valley three hours' drive from Thimphu, where an important religious festival was underway, and where they filmed in local village homes.
While they were in Punakha, President Obama announced the lifting of the ban on research using stem cells. The Michael J. Fox Foundation is one of the leading organizations supporting research for the prevention and cure of Parkinson's disease. The reversal of the stem cell ban for research is important for advancing the battle against Parkinson's, and for numerous other debilitating conditions, including multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Alzheimer's and spinal cord injury. The good and important work of the Michael J. Fox Foundation benefits research into all disorders for which the potential use of stem cells holds promise, including MS.
Michael J. Fox is truly an inspiring and courageous person who deserves the admiration and support which he has so gained over the last many years since establishing the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Finally, an anecdote.... as a young teen in 1979, I wanted to act, and had a talent agent in Vancouver. One day my agent sent to me to a studio in North Vancouver to audition for the lead in a TV movie about Huckleberry Finn. She cautioned me that a promising young actor named Michael J. Fox was up for the same role and would probably get it, but that auditioning would be good practice for me. Needless to say, I didn't get the part...and he did (although he confessed to me in Thimphu that he had turned it down). I told him that for years I had vowed to hunt him down for cutting short my Hollywood dream, but that I never expected to find him in Thimphu!
Mark LaPrairie, who is from Vancouver, is Country Operations Officer for Maldives and Bhutan for The World Bank. His sister, Gillian, who still lives in Vancouver with her husband and two boys, has multiple sclerosis.
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