Zara Tindall's husband Mike Tindall has always been open about his father's devastating battle with Parkinson's disease, and on Tuesday the former rugby player showed his support for fellow sufferer Michael J. Fox.
READ: Mike Tindall lends support after Princess of Wales releases inspirational message
Michael, 61, posted a video detailing his battle with the illness, and Mike reposted the clip, showing his solidarity with the actor, writing: "Love this guy!!" In the video, Michael said he went through a real "crisis" with the illness in 2018.
WATCH: Mike Tindall shared this clip courtesy of actor Michael J Fox
He was diagnosed when he was just 29 and has since raised over $1 billion for the disease to fund new research and treatments.
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In the video, he says: "Parkinson's is just this thing that's attached to my life. It isn't the driver, except that it drives my passions."
Mike, who turns 44 this month, appreciated the actor's sentiment, perhaps relating it to his father's condition, following his diagnosis in 2003.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMike Tindall with his family
Since his father was diagnosed with the condition, Mike has worked with the charity Cure Parkinson's, including hosting fundraising events to raise awareness of the disease.
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"My dad has had Parkinson's for 20 years," Mike said of his father's illness. "It's been a tough road for him, especially in the last ten years and it's been great to put that funding into research."
© Photo: Getty ImagesZara Tindall supports her husband amid his father's ill-health
Speaking about his dad on GMB in 2019, Mike said: "It's a nightmare disease because there are over 40 symptoms of what Parkinson's can look like... people think they're drunk or people can freeze in the middle of the street but that's the difficult part of it.
"As my dad's progressed down his journey. I was very blasé at the start, he was diagnosed in 2003. He had this tremor for a couple of years before that and being a typical bloke didn't address the issue early enough... He was good for a long period of time and then sort of been in the last year - and the last five years - you've seen it catch up on him."
READ: Mike Tindall's life-threatening injury from his rugby days
Speaking about how it impacts his family, the father-of-three added that Parkinson's made it difficult for his dad to spend time with his two children, Mia and Lena.
"Look at my dad, I knew what he was as a dad," he explained. "He taught me to play rugby, he taught me to tackle... he's still that guy who wants to be playing with Mia, Lena and little Lucas, but he needs to question how far he can go with it because he's not the same."
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He also advised people to be patient with a Parkinson's sufferer, who can find things like walking through doorways enormously challenging. He added: "You have to be patient with them. Doorways have been a big problem for my dad, he just can't get through a doorway."
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