Then on Tuesday, Blair was interviewed by Robin Roberts for Good Morning America, even though she was in the midst of dealing with spasmodic dysphonia, a symptom of her MS that prompts her speech to come out in staccato bursts, caused by involuntary movements in the larynx.
Despite this, Blair was in excellent spirits, displaying great humor about her own unsteadiness ("Wouldn't it be funny if I fell in the pool?"), the advice she received from a fellow actor ("I've got Michael J. Fox's email now! I'm cooler than I thought!"), and the difficult decision to get in front of a camera in her current state ("No one has the energy to talk when they’re in the middle of a flare up, but I do, because I love a camera!")
Blair also revealed her struggles with pain management, exhaustion, parenting and not being "taken seriously by doctors" when she was desperately seeking a diagnosis. In the studio afterward, Roberts fought back tears talking about Blair's bravery, as well as the inspiring way the actress is handling her disease and finding ways to channel the lessons from it into new projects, including clothing design.
Blair is the latest celebrity to go public about fighting a chronic illness (Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez have recently spoken up about living with fibromyalgia and lupus respectively). In allowing herself to be vulnerable in public like this, she isn't just raising MS awareness on an international level, she's also inspiring other people dealing with the same disease. And for that, we salute her!
Watch the full interview: