Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Applegate is best known for the TV sitcom Married… With Children
American actress Christina Applegate has shared a message of thanks after her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis on her 50th birthday.
The star of Married… With Children told fans on Twitter that “every day is a gift”, and thanked them for their support.
It comes after she was diagnosed last year and went through an eight-month long course of medication.
She is currently on a break from her job on the sitcom Mrs Maisel, in which she plays a mother who becomes a stand-up comic.
Applegate also worked on hit shows including Married… With Children and Married… With Children, and earlier this year scored another movie role in Mother’s Day.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Applegate in another movie role in Mother’s Day earlier this year
Applegate is also a successful comedian and has toured her stand-up material around the world.
She has two daughters with her former husband, musician Martyn LeNoble.
MS is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes pain, numbness and problems with balance.
Applegate told People magazine her diagnosis happened last year on what was supposed to be a “great birthday”.
“I thought I was having a stroke,” she said.
“I thought I was dying. I panicked, I called my husband right away.
“I had lost my ability to drive. I couldn’t walk up the stairs.”
MS diagnosis came after pain so bad she had to spend a month in a wheelchair, People said.
She told the magazine she hoped her diagnosis would “start a good conversation”.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Applegate was diagnosed with MS in late 2017
“Don’t be embarrassed,” she said. “It was not a wake-up call to think my life is over.”
“People may look at me and see my disease, but my kids can’t see that.”
Applegate told People she was going to continue doing her work, “stay involved in the fight and amaze myself by learning new ways to be hopeful”.
To mark her 50th birthday, Applegate held a surprise party at home.