SUNDAY READ: David Osmond raises awareness for Multiple Sclerosis

David Osmond kicked off the opening ceremony at the Walk MS: Houston event on Sunday, Nov. 10. For David, the fundraising event for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society was part of his personal mission to bring more awareness to MS diagnosis and treatment. Both he and his father, Alan, have been diagnosed with MS.

The younger Osmond recently wrote I Can Do This, a song to inspire other people living with MS. The song is available as a free download at the Our Voice in Song website.

Osmond partnered with Novartis Pharmaceuticals to create the website to share diet and fitness tips and help educate people about Relapsing MS.

There are four types of MS. Alan Osmond was diagnosed with Progressive MS. As the name implies, it generally progresses until the person relies on a wheelchair.

With Relapsing MS, an attack may last weeks, months or years, then go away for months or years.

Since he was diagnosed with Relapsing MS at age 26, Osmond has become an advocate for the MS community.

If theres one thing I want people to know, Osmond said, its that there is hope, and there is community. There is support and unconditional love.

Im so glad David is doing this, because MS attacks young people in their 20s and 30s, said Dr. Flavia Nelson, an MS specialist, associate professor of neurology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and associate director of the MRI Analysis Center.

MS is the number one most disabling disease for young adults, outside of auto accidents, Nelson adds. Every hour more than one person is diagnosed, because were getting better at diagnosing it.

The McDonald MS Diagnostic Criteria is the global standard for diagnosing MS, but it only came about after a group of experts met in London in 2001 to establish diagnostic guidelines. The criteria was revised in 2006 and 2010.

Read the original here:
SUNDAY READ: David Osmond raises awareness for Multiple Sclerosis