I don’t know if you knew about this, but Chuck Norris is the only man on the planet who can kill two shots from one bird. If he could travel to an alternate dimension where another Chuck Norris existed, he would fight him, and they would both win. That’s Chuck Norris, the greatest action hero who has ever existed in the collective imagination of the world, but what very few know is that beyond the jokes about his strength, this man (the real one) has been fighting a tough battle with his wife for a prize that escapes all understanding: love.
Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, or Bruce Willis hit the big screen, Chuck Norris had already shot half the world (and not only in the movies). For decades, his name was synonymous with pure action. However, at some point in the 2000s, he disappeared from the public eye, even though his popularity was on the rise due to the famous “Chuck Norris facts.” The reason was that he withdrew from the spotlight to take care of his wife, Gena O’Kelly, who has been suffering from a painful illness since 2013 due to medical malpractice.
In 2013, Gena underwent a body scan to check the characteristics of her arthritis, and doctors injected her with gadolinium, a highly toxic chemical. It is a heavy metal that is injected into a vein to improve the quality of images of internal organs. “It damaged his nervous system, impairing his kidneys and causing him to lose abilities. He feels like his whole body is burning,” the actor explained.
“I have abandoned my film career to dedicate my entire life to keeping Gena alive. That’s the most important thing, that she continues with us and that what has happened to her is not suffered by anyone else,” said Chuck Norris in explaining the reasons for his retirement. “My love for her is stronger than my career, money, anything else. She’s sick, she’s suffering, and I will be her guardian and her comfort….”
Chuck did not retire just to take care of her, but to fight for his wife’s health. Gena’s condition causes her constant pain; besides that, she has developed kidney problems and feels weak most of the time. The medical expenses amount to more than 2 million dollars, so a few years ago, the couple filed a lawsuit against 11 pharmaceutical companies for the use of gadolinium for more than 10 million dollars.
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
