RELATED
Jack Osbourne & MS: The Condition That Turns Fathers Into Sons
Jack Osbourne has revealed that he has MS, a condition that struck my Father in his mid-20s. My advice would be to make every day count...
Jack Osborne has recently become one of only a few celebrities to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It seems as though the disease has caught him where it catches most people, in their prime between the ages of 20-30′s.
My dad along with many others in the UK was diagnosed at a similar age, so what is it?
MS is a disease that wears away a material called myelin sheath; this material insulates the signals sent through your nerves to your muscles. So in effect the signals begin to stop going through or go through sporadically. There are different kinds of MS such as relapse and remitting, this is where symptoms get worse during a relapse and improve during remission. Progressive MS is the kind my dad suffers from, this is where symptoms get worse and worse over time…walking stick, crutches, wheelchair. There is no known cause and no cure.
Awareness of the disease is frustratingly low even though around 100,000 people suffer from it in the UK. So what are the Jack and the Osborne’s facing?
The father son roles are blurred and I often find myself more affected by seeing someone else suffering from MS
Quite bluntly it has the ability to beat down the most optimistic of people in its own silently destructive way. It can turn boys into men and men into boys, wives and husbands into robotic saints. Frustration and depression are by products of the physical debilitation and quite often it’s the psychological damage of the sufferer that has the greater impact on the family. Seeing a loved one fall down and picking them up is understandable and tangible but it’s hard to visualise someone’s mind falling down a pit. My dad often struggles to derive joy from the things he should and can enjoy still, tangled up in the web of MS means his mind is elsewhere. The father son roles are blurred and I often find myself more affected by seeing someone else suffering from MS, this is bizarre to me but probably a result of the emotional distancing that family members have to give themselves.
Jack and his family will have to deal with all of this in the public eye. Some aspects will be easier for them, a spacious house and carers when needed will make a difference but instances such as this money will have little to no benefit. Some people can lead normal lives with MS and only suffer occasionally and I really hope this will be the case for Jack Osborne as he is clearly someone who enjoys the physical aspects of life. His fiancée has recently given birth and he has strong family support which will be needed in the coming years.
Even from someone who has been indirectly affected by the disease understanding what a sufferer is going through is near impossible. This is perhaps why they often seek refuge on forums and chat rooms with other sufferers of MS, some of which have no one. This can be somewhat beneficial but what I will state is that family members are the ones who understand the sufferer’s individual situation; isolation from them isn’t the answer.
My view on the disease is that if tomorrow was going to be worse than today then I would make today count. Jack Osborne is someone who appears to live life to the full and I really hope he continues to do so whilst learning to live with MS.
Click here for more stories about Life
Click here to follow Sabotage Times on Twitter
Click here to follow Sabotage Times on Facebook
If you like it, Pass it on
COMMENTS
Speaking as someone who is coping with my wife's recent MS diagnosis, thank you for such an articulate piece. Extremely interesting .
Good article. Let's hope Researchers/doctors can find something to make it a little easier for people to cope with MS.
MS is not a 'disease' and readers of this article should be directed to the MS Society for proper, factual information on the condition.
I too have MS, for 22 years now. My best tip is to avoid stress and carry on doing what you love most. I fight it all the way and still ride my horse every day and show jump in competitions. OK I only have 60% vision in one eye and drag my left leg but what the hell.
Thanks, i will just say that this is just my own experience of the disease. I'm sure every case will be different and have its own complexities.
@Shell This is clearly an article about the effect MS has had on my family coupled with the high profile new of Jack Osbourne's diagnosis. The overview at the start is what i understand MS to be and as far as i am aware is accurate. Its just an overview because there is an ideal word limit for this site and i wanted it to be more about the impact it can have on a family, not a biological description of MS. I'm aware that it is a non hereditary, non transferable 'condition'. But also by definition it is a disease as its a deviation from the normal structure of a persons biology, anyway like i said not the crux of the article.
Great, brave and informative article Luke - my uncle is being monitored for symptoms and it's necessary (if unpalatable) to get a heads up about what it could mean. I do wonder what goes through someone's head who could read this and think first and foremost about the semantics of using the word 'disease'.
As a gluten intolerance/allergy sufferer, I read that research in Spain shows that there is a possible link with MS. A diet excluding gluten and wheat might help the symptoms with MS.
I have been diagnosed with RR MS since 2009. I'm learning to deal with the disease and it's opsticals that I have on days. But, one thing for sure I think positive about life and I go on living my daily routine. I have noticed that more and more people are being diagnosed with MS. I encourage people to read upon the disease to get knowledge of what it is. OOOh ya and keep your chin up with all that you do!!
Jack, Listen to a fellow brit who lives with a wife who has MS. 1. Do not have anything to do with the MS Societies in the UK,US and Canada where I live. The MS Societies are interested in new methods of treating MS patients. They hate the findings of the famous doctor from Italy Dr Zamboni who first gave the world the CCSVI treatment which has helped many people get rid of walking sticks and wheelchairs. Jack, google CCSVI. You will not find the MS Societies talking about CCSVI because they are in bed with big pharma and the neurologists don't want to let go of the legal kick-backs they get from pushing drugs like Copaxone etc. Jack, get tested for Lyme disease. My wife has just found out she has Lyme which as well. They have a lab in california who test for the various strains of Lyme for about 200-250. Just send a blood sample via your doctor. The MS Societies are self centered money collecting scum bags. Jack, wise up and follow my advice. Good luck Jack
Jack, Listen to a fellow brit who lives with a wife who has MS. 1. Do not have anything to do with the MS Societies in the UK,US and Canada where I live. The MS Societies are not interested in new methods of treating MS patients. They hate the findings of the famous doctor from Italy Dr Zamboni who first gave the world the CCSVI treatment which has helped many people get rid of walking sticks and wheelchairs. Jack, google CCSVI. You will not find the MS Societies talking about CCSVI because they are in bed with big pharma and the neurologists don't want to let go of the legal kick-backs they get from pushing drugs like Copaxone etc. Jack, get tested for Lyme disease. My wife has just found out she has Lyme which as well. They have a lab in california who test for the various strains of Lyme for about 200-250. Just send a blood sample via your doctor. The MS Societies are self centered money collecting scum bags. Jack, wise up and follow my advice. Good luck Jack
SABOTAGE
