One of the true curses of humanity is the simple fact that everyone ages. It doesn’t matter how successful or wealthy one becomes in their lifetime, the benchmarks of age come for us all. Movie icon Morgan Freeman is feeling the pain of his nearly nine decades of life.
While reaching the status of octogenarian is worthy enough of aches and pains, the actor has struggled with a crippling disorder after a terrible motor vehicle accident in 2008.

What happened to Morgan Freeman’s hand?

Morgan Freeman has been pretty tight-lipped about his personal life, but he allowed a peek into his struggles. At nearly 90, Freeman is definitely feeling the weight of his many years, but he’s got more excuses than most for his stiff movement. The Bucket List actor has been in chronic pain since his 2008 accident, but it’s never slowed his roll. That year he made 2 movies, including his unforgettable appearance as Lucius Fox in Batman.

In a 2012 exclusive interview with Esquire, Freeman spoke about the car wreck that nearly killed him and a friend. While enjoying a drive in Mississippi, Freeman lost control of his vehicle. The car flipped and rolled, leaving it so damaged the duo had to be freed by hydraulic cutters, colloquially known as the Jaws of Life. Despite the severity of the crash, Freeman was conscious the whole time, joking with emergency workers as they raced to free him.

Though the Shawshank Redemption actor was able to afford some of the best medical care in the world, the surgery to repair the damaged nerves in his left arm was only moderately successful. As a result, his left hand, though it was saved, remains all but useless.

The gloves Freeman has been spotted in since are no fashion statement; they’re compression gloves. The tight fabric prevents too much fluid from accumulating in the limb, and “pushes” the excess fluids out while providing a soothing pressure. The compression glove might help with joint aches and swelling, but it can’t combat the shooting pains from damaged nerves. Tom Chiarella writes of his time with Freeman,

“It hurts when he walks, when he sits still, when he rises from his couch, and when he missteps in a damp meadow. More than hurts. It seems a kind of agony, though he never mentions it. There are times when he cannot help but show this…. pain, an icy shot up a relatively useless limb. He doesn’t like to show it, but there are times when he cannot help but lose himself to a world-ending grimace.”

While the injury was plenty to contend with on its own, the physical trauma brought on Fibromyalgia. The disorder amplifies pain by affecting the way the brain and spinal cord process signals like pain and other sensations. Freeman says the pain is “excruciating,” and that it gets worse up and down his left arm. Despite his consistent aches, the actor has stayed incredibly busy, releasing at least two movies a year since the accident.

Through it all, Freeman approaches the pain with grace, though it has robbed him of plenty of things he used to love.

He might never be able to sail to the Caribbean alone, drive a stick, or pilot jets, but he stays positive. “There is a point to changes like these,” he told Esquire, “I have to move on to other things. I have to move on to other things, to other conceptions of myself.”