Michael J. Fox Says ‘Good Things are Happening’ After a Physically Challenging Year (Exclusive)

"There's been a lot of challenges. A lot of physical challenges," Fox, who has been living with Parkinson's disease for more than 30 years, tells PEOPLE

Michael J. Fox has a lot he is looking forward to this year.

At the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's event on Tuesday, Fox, 62, spoke to PEOPLE about being excited for the future after a challenging year physically.

“You know, my daughter's getting married too ... good things are happening, and life is good. And so it's been a good year, for sure,” the actor tells PEOPLE at the Nashville event.

Fox, who is the founder of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, shares that while he has plenty of positive things in the pipeline, it's also been a difficult few months, too. "There's been a lot of challenges," he explains. "A lot of physical challenges these days have been different bits, but just that I had a lot of stuff … I had a movie, a documentary and a lot of obligations.”

Related: Michael J. Fox: 'I Truly Live One Day at a Time' as Parkinson's Disease Progresses (Exclusive)

“A lot of things have been a lot of effort … And so it was a tough year, but a good year, in each of the challenges [that] came up,” he adds.

Fox has been living with Parkinson's disease, an incurable degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, for more than 30 years.

The Back to the Future star credits his wife Tracy Pollan and his family, along with his team, for getting him through those challenges these past few months. He and Pollan share four children together.

“With the help of family, with the help of people that I work with, I've been able to meet those challenges and go beyond them and do new things,” Fox says. “And the whole thing is just keep having new experiences, whether it's experiences that push forward, what we're trying to do and our mission with foundation.”

Related: Michael J. Fox Gets Standing Ovation as He Presents Best Film Award at 2024 BAFTAs

Tuesday's event took place at Belmont University with an exclusive cocktail reception and several country music stars performing, including Sheryl Crow, Little Big Town and Jason Isbell.

Fox and wife Pollan were pictured arriving at the benefit together as they kicked off Parkinson's Awareness Month. The couple celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary last July.

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Speaking about the secret to their long-lasting marriage, Fox tells PEOPLE, “We just make it up as we go along. It's interesting, being married for 35 years. Yeah. I mean, the joke is you say I’ve been married 35 years, and it’s [been] the best 35 years of my life so think about that one for a second."

He adds of his partnership with Pollan, "But it's great. It's great having a partner and having someone that knows you in a [certain] way when everyone in the world thinks they know you. [Only] one person actually knows you."

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