Michael J. Fox Recovering After Spinal Surgery

Michael J. Fox is recovering after recently undergoing spinal surgery.

“Michael J. Fox recently underwent spinal surgery unrelated to his Parkinson’s,” Leslie Solan, a spokesperson for the 56-year-old actor, told PEOPLE. “He is recovering, feeling great, and looking forward to getting back on the golf course this summer.”

The surgery was likely the reason why Fox backed out of an appearance at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in Canada. He was originally scheduled to appear with his Back to the Future co-stars Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Thomas F. Wilson.

“Whoa! This is heavy. Michael J Fox is not able to be with us at [Calgary Expo],” organizers said in a tweet on April 2. “We received the following message from his publicist to share with you all – ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances in his schedule Michael J. Fox is not available to attend.’”

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and went public about his diagnosis in 1998. Since then, he has dedicated his life to finding a cure for the disease, which causes uncontrollable tremors in the body.

In a recent interview with CBS News, he said he does not expect to see a cure in his lifetime, but he is already seeing improved therapies.

“I’ll take that in the short term,” Fox told Jane Pauley. “The idea of finding that eureka! moment and the thing that cures it, I don’t know that that’ll happen in the next 20 years. But I do think we’ll have therapies where it’s a vast improved quality of life for people with Parkinson’s.”

Fox also told Pauley it would be “much more special” to be known for helping fund the research to cure Parkinson’s than for any movie.

“I had a moment with somebody and they said, ‘Someday there’s gonna be a cure for Parkinson’s and it’s gonna be because of you.’ And to me this was the first time that it really struck me,” Fox said. “And I didn’t — and not that I took it seriously, but I feel part of something that is much more special — if it happens it’s much more special than any movie or any TV show.”

Despite his diagnosis, Fox has never stopped acting. In fact, the beloved actor just joined ABC’s Designated Survivor with Kiefer Sutherland. He also appeared on CBS’ The Good Wife, earning three Emmy nominations for his role as Louis Canning.

Photo credit: ABC/Ida Mae Astute