“I Miss Who I Was”: Applegate’s MS Battle Resonates With Many

This week, Christina Applegate recorded her podcast MeSsy from a hospital bed.

After experiencing what she described as unbearable pain during a family trip to Europe, the Emmy-winning actress returned home and was hospitalized in Los Angeles. A middle-of-the-night CT scan revealed a serious infection in both kidneys. She’s now on IV antibiotics and expects to remain in the hospital for at least a week.

Applegate has spoken openly about living with multiple sclerosis, a progressive autoimmune disease she was diagnosed with in 2021. Her journey since then has included over 30 hospitalizations for GI issues and profound emotional challenges.

On the podcast, she described a moment when she cried in her nurse’s arms and said she missed who she used to be.

Her daughter, Sadie, diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) last year, recently told her, “I miss who you were before MS.” Applegate said hearing that “felt like a knife to the heart.”

It’s a deeply personal glimpse into how chronic illness affects not just the body, but identity, relationships, and daily life.

Let this be a reminder: we don’t need to wait for a celebrity to speak out to validate someone’s suffering. Chronic illness is real. It’s hard. And the people living with it every day, whether or not they’re in the spotlight, deserve compassion, support, and to be believed.