“Grey’s Anatomy” actor Steven W. Bailey is sharing more details about the rare disorder with which he was diagnosed and his hope to continue acting amid his health battle.
Bailey, best known for his role as Joe, the owner of the bar where the doctors on “Grey’s Anatomy” congregate after work, has been privately living with a rare genetic neuromuscular disorder known as congenital myasthenic syndrome for over five years.
Bailey, 54, told “Good Morning America” that he first began to experience symptoms in 2020.
“I tried to turn my hand with a screwdriver and my entire arm just went into a lockdown situation,” Bailey said in an interview that aired Friday on “GMA.”
After spending several years searching for answers, Bailey said he was diagnosed in 2020 with congenital myasthenic syndrome, which causes muscle weakness and fatigue.
The disorder has no cure, though medications are available to help with the symptoms.
“There’s a lot of private moments of everything kind of falling apart, and then, you know, you have to kind of bolster yourself back up and try to stay positive,” he told “GMA.”
Bailey first shared his diagnosis publicly on social media on Jan. 2, writing in part, “Out of career caution, diagnostic uncertainty, and being private about such things in general, I have been hiding my battle with this disease for over five years. Time to stop.”
Due to fatigue, Bailey now uses a wheelchair for some activities.
Moving forward, Bailey said he would like to continue acting.
“Most of the stuff I usually do on film, I can still do. I just get tired quicker and I might need to move around the set on the wheelchair just to save my energy for the scene itself,” he said.
Bailey said that by sharing his diagnosis publicly, he hopes to bring awareness to wheelchair users, including more representation in movie and television roles.
“I think there’s a real opportunity to show people onscreen who are like me, ambulatory wheelchair users,” he said. “I think it’d be a real interesting exploration of a character, to have somebody who’s dealing with an issue like that onscreen.”
