Norris is a significant figure in the movie industry because of his work as an actor, producer, and screenwriter. His role as a husband, though, is where he shines the brightest.

Norris first met the lady who would become his wife, Gena O’Kelley, in 1997, and the couple married the following year.

They went on to have children together, including a pair of identical twins, in addition to their previous partnerships’ kids. Despite their incredible 23-year age difference, Norris and O’Kelley had a love tale fit for the ages.

Norris put his career on pause for a few years in the 2010s to care for O’Kelley, who was battling a lot of extremely significant health issues as a consequence of having many MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) conducted.

Norris stayed by her side at all times, and the two of them survived the storm together, returning stronger than before and even raising awareness about what had happened.

All of O’Kelley’s health problems began when she first went in for a series of MRI scans and contrast imaging.

She had to undergo an injection of a particular dye that served as a contrast agent for the scans before they could begin.

She asked her medical experts if she could obtain all of the necessary scans at the same time, but she was told that this was not feasible and that she would have to complete three separate scans. This meant she’d have to get three injections of the dye to finish the process.

Still, something went very wrong when O’Kelley was injected with gadolinium, a type of heavy metal that has magnetic properties. As a result, she got very sick.

She had been told that the contrast agent would be gone from her system within a few hours and that she should drink water to help flush it out, but her concern over the contrast agent grew.

Despite the doctors’ assurances that everything would be OK, Norris began to suspect that something was really wrong and attempted to determine what the next step should be.

Finally, he was able to make contact with a doctor in Nevada. When Norris’ doctor advised him that his wife O’Kelley’s health was critical, the actor prioritized O’Kelley and her well-being above all other projects he was working on at the time.

Norris didn’t leave O’Kelley’s side for five months and even slept on the couch next to her as she worked on getting healthy.

Gadolinium did not leave O’Kelley’s body after a few hours, as she had been told. Instead, surprisingly high levels of the element gadolinium were found in her body.

The FDA issued a “black box” warning in 2007, noting that people with poor renal function should reduce exposure to the element since they would be unable to eliminate it.

In 2017, the actor reflected on his illness and revealed some of his own experiences.

Well, it’s the helpless feeling, you know, because I’m a take-charge sort of guy, and then here I have something where I can’t do anything, and it was horrible.”