Janice Dean, the tenacious Fox News meteorologist whose unyielding spirit has shone through 17 years of Fox & Friends forecasts and fierce advocacy for COVID victims, has bared a “devastating” personal blow that’s left her “numb and never-ending” in agony: a foot diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, a nerve-damaging scourge tied to her 2019 multiple sclerosis (MS) that’s turned every step into a searing struggle. In a tearful September 30, 2025, interview on The Megyn Kelly Show, the 55-year-old mother of two – Avery, 12, and Dallas, 10 – choked, “I can’t walk without pain – it’s like fire in my feet, and it’s stealing my joy.” The “long COVID” echo – her 2020 bout left “lingering” symptoms, but MS’s “silent thief” struck harder, with neuropathy “numbing” her soles and sending “shocks” up her legs. “Devastated doesn’t cover it – I was running marathons; now, a stroll’s a storm,” Janice shared, her voice a velvet vise of vulnerability as Megyn handed tissues, fans flooding #JaniceStrong with 3.2 million posts: “Warrior walk on!”
The diagnosis’s dread? Deafening: Janice’s MS, revealed in 2021 (America’s Newsroom segment, 4 million viewers), was a “relapsing-remitting” type, but neuropathy’s “progressive pinch” – nerves fraying like wires in a storm – hit in July 2025, after a “tired toes” tease turned to “burning” beds. “It’s the ‘silent’ part that steals – no warning, just weakness,” she told People, her Ocrevus infusions (monthly MS med) now joined by gabapentin for “ghost pains.” The “devastated” daily? A dirge: Mornings masked with makeup for Fox & Friends Weekend (1.8 million viewers), evenings evading elevators for “one step at a time” with Avery and Dallas. “They see Mum strong – but the fire’s real,” she confessed, her advocacy – 2021’s “Long COVID” testimony to Congress (£2 million raised for research) – now a neuropathy nemesis.
The family’s fortitude? Formidable: Husband Sean, a NYC firefighter, shoulders the “silent support,” their twins a “light in the legs’ limbo.” “Avery’s ‘Mum’s my meteor’ notes keep me going,” Janice smiled through sobs, her 2024 Fox News book Mostly Sunny a balm for the “mostly stormy.” Fans? Flooded: #JaniceJourney racks 2.5 million posts, “Walk on, warrior!” vs. “MS monster – fight!” Celebs cascade: Megyn Kelly’s “Your strength slays” tweet, Ainsley Earhardt’s “Sister in steps.” Skeptics? Sparse, drowned by the deluge: “Sympathy stunt,” but Janice’s “numb” notes? Naked truth.
This isn’t health haze; it’s a hymn to heroism, Janice’s “devastated” diagnosis a dirge for the dismissed. The neuropathy? Numbing, nagging. September 30? Not interview – an ignition. Fans rally; the resilience? Radiant. The world’s watching – whispering wellness. Dean’s devotion? Dauntless. The steps? Stumbling, but steadfast.
