The successful martial arts actor Chuck Norris did not hesitate for a second to leave everything to be with the love of his life. Some people decide to take time off from the city and relax, while others are forced to take care of a sick family member.
Norris’s case seems to be a mix of both. After learning about his wife’s illness, he decided to abandon his career in Hollywood and become Gena’s main caregiver.
“I gave up my movie career to focus on Gena. I think this topic is that important”, were the words of Chuck Norris in an interview.
He is remembered for several projects, and his experience with martial arts dates back to when he served in the United States Air Force and spent a season in South Korea. Now among his most important roles, Walker or Texas Ranger stands out.
Gena O’Kelly is 23 years younger than the actor, but it didn’t matter to them to unite their lives in 1998 and have two children years later. It should be noted that Chuck had already been with someone else for 30 years, fathered two children, and one out of wedlock.
In 2013, his wife was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but the doctors wanted to apply contrast dye before proceeding with three MRIs. Gena began to feel a burning sensation in different parts of his body as the days went by.
“I was in the ER for five or six nights in a row, and the symptoms worsened. The burning sensation kept spreading through my body, ” Gena said.
It would be five long months of visits and long waits in the hospital for Chuck, and her health deteriorated so much that she could not take care of herself. ” When I arrived, they asked me what was wrong, and I told them that I didn’t know, didn’t feel well, felt like I was burning, as if I had acid inside my body.”
The diagnoses were many. Some doctors thought it was cancer, others Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis. Without knowing what was happening to her, Gena began to investigate on her own; everything indicated that it was gadolinium poisoning, a toxic substance that was applied to him before his resonance.
He immediately went to the hospital to tell his doctors about his discovery and discuss treatment options. In Reno, Nevada, they found the solution to save his life. Through the use of alternative medicine, she received a treatment that brought her, albeit slowly, back to life.
“When we got there, she couldn’t swallow, so we had to feed her baby food through her esophagus,” the actor recounted some of the experiences in an interview.
Like many marriages in such a situation, Gena and Chuck faced many obstacles, but they were true to their promise at the altar to be in sickness and sickness. Chuck set aside his career to care for his wife throughout the process.
“My wonderful husband was lying on the couch next to me the whole time, and he even read me 17 books,” Norris’s wife recounted. The family faced a difficult challenge. However, Gena managed to pull through.