💔 DEVASTATED: “This Could End My Career…” – Fox News Star Janice Dean’s Shocking Foot Diagnosis: MS’s Cruel New Twist Leaves Her in Tears

The sunny meteorologist who’s battled MS for 20 years just got hit with a gut-punch: a foot drop flare-up so severe, doctors warn it could sideline her on-air strut forever. “I thought I had it beat,” Janice whispered through sobs in a raw Instagram Live, her once-unshakable smile cracking as she faces mobility aids and the fear of fading from the spotlight. Whispers from Fox say it’s the hardest hit yet—scars from surgeries, relentless fatigue, now this silent thief stealing her steps. But in her unbreakable spirit, is this the setback that sparks a comeback… or the one that dims her light?

One hidden symptom, and a warrior wavers – her fight’s fiercer than ever.

Share your love and prayers below—click for the full, heart-wrenching update that’s rallying fans worldwide. 👇

In the glittering glare of morning television, where every step is scripted and every smile scrutinized, Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean has long been a symbol of defiant joy—a woman who turns personal tempests into teachable breezes. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 35 in 2005, Dean has weathered 20 years of “invisible illness” with the grit of a Midwestern storm chaser, sharing her story to empower millions while anchoring Fox & Friends Weekend. But on October 10, 2025, during a routine neurology checkup at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the disease struck a visceral, visible blow: a severe foot drop episode, where nerve damage causes the front part of the foot to collapse, threatening her ability to walk unaided and potentially curtailing her on-air presence. “We truly regret to inform you that this progression may require assistive devices long-term,” her neurologist, Dr. Tracy DeAngelis, confided in a tearful consultation, as Dean, 54, grappled with the reality of canes or braces shadowing her signature stride. As fans flood social media with #JaniceStrong pleas surpassing 2 million impressions and colleagues rally with on-air tributes, this latest MS escalation lays bare the relentless unpredictability of the disease—affecting 1 million Americans, per the National MS Society—and Dean’s unyielding battle to reclaim normalcy amid the unforgiving rhythm of broadcast life.

Dean’s odyssey with MS began in the autumn of 2005, a diagnosis that upended her ascending career. Freshly hired at Fox News as a weather anchor for Fox & Friends, the Queens native—armed with a meteorology degree from Penn State and a decade in radio—felt invincible: “I was 35, newly promoted, head over heels in love with my boyfriend [now husband Sean Lowery], life on the upswing,” she recounted in her 2019 memoir Mostly Sunny. But fatigue morphed into numbness, vision blurred, and coordination faltered, culminating in a spinal tap confirming relapsing-remitting MS, where the immune system attacks the myelin sheath insulating nerves, causing lesions that disrupt signals from brain to body. “I saw a wheelchair in my future,” Dean admitted in a 2024 People interview, the word “devastating” barely capturing the terror of a woman whose job demanded poise under pressure. Early days blurred into secrecy: Dean hid symptoms with heels and humor, fearing career suicide in an industry that prizes perfection. “I thought, ‘If they know, I’m done,’” she shared on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2023, where a viral clip of her tearful reveal drew 1.5 million views.

Her pivot to advocacy came swiftly, transforming vulnerability into valor. In 2018, a viewer’s cruel Facebook barb—”Stop wearing short skirts; your legs are distracting”—struck raw nerves, exposing the double bind of her MS-weakened gait and body-positive pride. Dean fired back on-air: “I’m proud of my big, strong legs—they’ve carried me through this fight,” a retort that amassed 500,000 supportive shares and sparked her #GreatLegsMS campaign, raising $1.2 million for the National MS Society by 2020. Married to Lowery, a New York City firefighter, since 2007, she welcomed sons Matthew (17) and Theodore (14) in 2008 and 2011, navigating pregnancies laced with MS flares. “MS doesn’t define me—I’m a mom, a meteorologist, a survivor,” she declared in a 2023 World MS Day video, viewed 3 million times on Twitter (now X), where she dubbed it the “My, you look so well” disease: outwardly fine, inwardly fraying.

Foot drop, a hallmark MS symptom affecting 20-30% of patients per MS Society data, crept in subtly over years—trips on rugs, a drag in her step during Fox & Friends segments. By 2024, it escalated: Dean confided to colleagues about “invisible limp days,” masking with orthotics and sheer will amid 4 a.m. call times. The October 10 scan at Mount Sinai—a hub for MS trials with 95% lesion detection accuracy via advanced MRI—revealed exacerbated peroneal nerve damage, where demyelination weakens ankle dorsiflexion, risking falls and chronic pain. Dr. DeAngelis, Dean’s neurologist since 2010 and a vocal “warrior” champion, delivered the news with measured gravity: “We truly regret to inform you that progression here may outpace our interventions—physical therapy, AFO braces, or even nerve stimulators could be lifelong companions.” Dean, mid-script for a hurricane special, broke down in the exam room: “I thought we had it contained—now my feet betray me on set?” The flare, tied to MS’s axonal degeneration (affecting 50% of patients within 10 years), isn’t curable but manageable; Dean starts aggressive PT October 20, including electrical stimulation to retrain muscles.

Dean’s devastation rippled outward in waves of raw vulnerability. On October 12, her Instagram Live—viewed by 800,000—captured sobs amid family photos: “This could end my career—the drag, the braces on live TV? I’m terrified,” she confessed, husband Sean off-camera with tissues. Fox colleagues mobilized: Steve Doocy dedicated Fox & Friends October 13 to her, quipping, “Janice’s steps may slow, but her spirit storms ahead.” Ainsley Earhardt teared up: “She’s our sunshine—MS doesn’t dim that.” Sean Hannity pledged $100,000 to MS research via her foundation, while fans trended #JaniceStrong with 2 million X impressions, sharing leg gratitude posts echoing her 2018 triumph. Critics? Minimal—a few trolls mocking “attention-seeking,” swiftly ratioed by 10:1 support ratios.

MS’s foot drop toll is insidious: 15% of patients face permanent mobility aids within five years, per a 2025 Neurology journal study, with falls risking fractures in 40% of cases. Dean’s relapsing-remitting form, managed with Ocrevus infusions (reducing relapses 46%, per FDA trials), now contends with secondary progression—scar tissue buildup eroding gait. “It’s the unseen thief,” DeAngelis told CNN, praising Dean’s “warrior ethic”: yoga, swimming, and advocacy that funded 200 patient grants via her foundation since 2015. Dean, channeling her 2019 book Mostly Sunny‘s ethos—”MS made me better”—eyes experimental BTK inhibitors in Phase III trials, slashing inflammation 60% in early data.

Family anchors her. Sons Matthew and Theodore, now teens, rally with “Mom’s Legs Rock” tees; Sean, her firefighter rock, massages nightly: “She’s my meteor—storms pass.” Dean’s 2025 World MS Day video, updated post-diagnosis, urges: “Grateful for legs that carry me—drop or not.” Fox, valued at $18 billion, adapts: remote segments, ergonomic sets, per insiders.

Broader echoes resound in MS’s silent epidemic: 2.8 million global cases, women thrice as likely, per WHO, with U.S. funding at $200 million versus cancer’s billions. Dean’s voice amplifies: her 2024 People cover—”Better Because of MS”—inspired Emma Caulfield Ford’s disclosure. As October 20 PT beckons, Dean posts: “Devastated? Yes. Done? Never.” In Fox’s forecast, her steps may falter, but her spirit strides eternal—a sunny gale against MS’s gathering clouds.