Selma Blair Says 'My Dream Is to Be a Useful Mom' as She's Honored at Race to Erase MS Gala

Selma Blair’s son Arthur 7½-year-old son Arthur Saint means the world to her.

Blair, 46, brought along her son as her date to the 26th annual Race to Erase MS gala on Friday, where the 46-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in October, was being honored.

While on the red carpet, the pair held hands as they posed for some adorable mother-son photos, with Blair rocking a custom Christian Siriano tuxedo with a black cane.

As she took to the stage inside the event, the proud mother shared that her son “is the reason for everything.”

“I have to say that I am afraid that I will fall, and I have the best ‘fall-bearers’ in the world,” she continued, praising her son as well as her longtime pal Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robin Roberts, both of whom also spoke at the gala.

Reflecting on the beginning of her career, which she joked happened “120 years ago,” Blair thanked her Cruel Intentions costar as well as the film’s director, Roger Kumble, for being her champions.

“There were much more eligible people that wanted this job, but with my will and grace, and Sarah and Roger, I got it,” she shared. “She fought for me then, and she is fighting for me now, so that is why this fight is so much easier.”

At the conclusion of her remarks, Blair leaned down to pick up her son, sharing that as she continues to battle with MS, she always hopes she’ll be able to be there for her boy.

“My dream is that I get to be a useful mom, as long as this kid wants me,” she shared, before joking, “which is about one more year.”

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Reflecting on her relationship with her son on social media following the event, Blair shared that “tonight was for him.”

“This child,” she wrote alongside a photo of the pair from the red carpet. “He sees me at every stage. And tonight was for him in my heart. To thank him and everyone who has rooted for me and for all of us with #MS and autoimmune disease. We thank you.”

Before Blair took the stage, she also received a heartfelt introduction from Gellar, 42.

“There are a lot of things that I can say about Selma Blair. Her passion, her beauty, her talent, but all of those things pale in comparison to her one super power, she is, no question, the best kisser. Hands down,” she joked, referring to their infamous smooch from Cruel Intentions.

“I have been friends with Selma for over twenty years, so I thought I knew everything there was to know about her, mostly because she has no filter, but in the last year I have seen a whole new side to her. Sure she is an incredible mother and friend, but now I know how brave she is,” Gellar added. “It would have been not only easy but understandable for someone to hide when she received this diagnosis, but instead she has done the exact opposite. She has faced this head-on and shared this journey with the world.”

Gellar went on to praise her friend for “choosing to show the raw truth” about her life, and her struggles.

“It may not be pretty, but it is real, and it is selfless. I know first-hand as friends and family we only want to help, but we can never truly understand what that person is going through. And by showing these truths, Selma is letting other people know that they are not alone, and that is a true friend,” she shared, audibly choking up.

Blair’s public appearance came a week after the star revealed she was struggling with the side effects of the condition.

“Here’s a truth. I feel sick as all hell,” she wrote on Instagram. “I am vomiting and all the things which are not polite to speak of. My son ran away. From me. I have to get him to school. The medical treatments take their toll.”

But, Blair said she will push past that day.

“I am going to get through this. We do. This will pass,” she said. “And to moms and dads who watch their kids sick on things we take to get better… I hold you. So glad this is me and not my child.”

Over the past seven months, Blair has dealt with various side effects from the chronic neurological condition, from difficulty using her right leg to voice spasms and total exhaustion.

“There were times when I couldn’t take it and I was really struggling with how I’m going to get by in life,” she admitted on Good Morning America to Roberts in February, noting she was “not being taken seriously by doctors.”

The Legally Blonde actress also recalled, “I dropped my son off at school a mile away and before I got home I’d have to pull over and take a nap … it was killing me. And so when I got the diagnosis, I cried with relief.”

Through all the ups and downs of living with MS, Blair told PEOPLE for the 2019 Beautiful Issue that she’s simply happy to be alive.

“Life is hard, and living with a chronic illness is hard,” she said. “There are things I can’t do at the moment, but things like all these [facial] lines are a luxury because it means I’m still alive and enjoying it.”

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