Francesca Scorsese is giving insight into her mom Helen Morris’ ongoing Parkinson’s battle.
Martin Scorsese’s 25-year-old daughter shared a TikTok Tuesday of her spending time with the director’s wife, who has been fighting the devastating disease for 35 years.
In the clip, Francesca sat at a table with Morris, 78, who had her head down. Francesca helped her mom eat cake and drink out of a cup. She also pushed Morris’ hair out of her face and chatted with her.
“Reminder to tell your parents you love them because one day you will have to take care of them the way they once took care of you,” Francesca wrote in a message on the video.
In the TikTok’s caption, Francesca wrote, “Never take health for granted.” She also included hashtags for the words “Parkinson’s awareness” and “warrior.”
In the comments, fan praised Francesca for taking care of her mom.
“Wonderful kid raised by wonderful people,” a fan wrote.
“Sending so much love. My dad also has Parkinson’s so I share this journey with you,” another person noted.
“Such a great daughter. 🙏 for your mom,” someone else wrote.
Francesca is Martin’s only child with Morris. The Oscar winner also shares daughter Cathy, 59, with his first wife, Laraine Marie Brennan, and daughter Domenica, 48, with his second wife, Julia Cameron.
Martin married Morris, his fifth wife, in 1999, nine years after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
The neurodegenerative disorder attacks the nervous system and affects movement, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Francesca opened up about her mom’s decades-long health battle on TikTok last year, revealing that the producer can no longer walk and has “round the clock” care.
“Yesterday, we spent the whole day in the E.R.,” Francesca shared. “I literally left a two-hour-long therapy session, and my dad texted me that she was in the emergency room. Usually, when she goes to the emergency room, it has to do with infections or falls or broken bones, confusion — it’s sort of turned into Parkinson’s dementia at this point.”
“We got really scared that maybe she was having a heart attack,” Francesca continued. “Because she’s essentially bed-bound, she ended up having multiple pulmonary embolisms, so she had multiple blood clots in her right lung and that can happen if you’re mostly sedentary.”
The clip then showed Francesca visiting her mom in the hospital and calling Morris an “icon.”
Martin, for his part, spoke about his “remarkable” wife and her diagnosis last year on James Corden’s SiriusXM podcast.
“She’s had Parkinson’s disease for about 30 years now,” the filmmaker said. “My complaining is part of my creating and it’s usually self-deprecating. My complaining, I find, is nothing compared to what the suffering that a condition like that does, and so we live with it and it changes how you perceive life and everything around you.”
Martin added about Morris, “I’ve never seen such strength like that in a person and such a fortitude and a positive way of approaching life under the worst of circumstances, very bad circumstance.”
