Chuck Norris is a name that has lived on through generations. From his time as one of the most popular television stars of all time to his legendary round-house kick becoming the butt of thousands of jokes to his classic thumbs-up post becoming one of the most successful memes of all times, Chuck Norris is a name nearly everyone can recall.
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But what about Chuck Norris, the actor. After finding fame in Hollywood, why did he leave such a lucrative job? Well, we now have an answer to that question.
Chuck Norris Reveals Why He Gave Up His Movie Career and His Answer Is Beautiful
In case you missed it, back in 2017, Norris, 82, got real with his fans about why he chose to leave stardom behind, the Mirror reported. And it was because he valued his role as a husband above any other role he ever played or may have played.
According to Norris in 2013, Norris’s wife of 24 years, Gena Norris, 58, underwent a series of MRI scans to monitor her rheumatoid arthritis. During these scans, Gena was injected with dyes so that her doctors could better see the extent of her illness.
However, Norris now believes those dyes resulted in her health deteriorating even more. As Norris explained, according to the Mirror, Gena was injected with “gadolinium,” a heavy metal, three times in a span of 8 days.
“Within hours after the first jab, I felt like my whole body was on fire — as if acid had been passed through it,” Gena revealed. “The burning was isolated at first, but it just kept spreading.”
Over the next several weeks, Gena would be admitted to the hospital six different times. As Gena shared following the scans she began experiencing “excruciating rib pain, difficulties breathing, full-body tremors, muscle weakness, and joint pain.”
While doctors were left stumped, Gena admitted she googled her symptoms and came across something called “gadolinium poisoning.” But doctors said that couldn’t possibly be the case.
As Gena continues she said doctors refused the idea that she was poisoned by the several injections she received prior because the dye “is designed to be out of patients’ system safely within hours after injection.” But Norris refused to take their doctors’ word.
Instead, the actor reached out to a clinic in Nevada that recognized gadolinium poisoning as a possibility. It was then that Gena was treated as such.
Sadly by that time, Gena had been through a lot. “By the time I reached the clinic — weeks after I had the injections — I had lost 15lb and was finding it hard to swallow — I had to be fed baby food,” she explained.
“I just lay in bed on an IV for five months and had to have round-the-clock nursing care. Chuck slept beside me on the couch and never left. I prayed that I would live to raise my children.”
Now, Gena and Chuck Norris have dedicated their lives to spreading awareness about gadolinium poisoning. “I’ve given up my film career to concentrate on Gena, my whole life right now is about keeping her alive. I believe this issue is so important,” Norris said.
“It’s infuriating and heartbreaking — it’s a vicious, ugly secret that has been kept hidden — something Chuck and I are determined to change,” Gena added, according to Hello!
The couple has since sued 11 Big Pharma companies for making such injections, the Mirror reports. Sadly, while Gena has continued their search for alternative medicine, she continues to deal with “bout of pain” and “long-term health implications” as a result.