So when I saw this announcement that Jack Osbourne has MS, my first reaction was that's sad, I can relate. My second reaction is "Who is Jack Osbourne?" To help with the second, he looks like this:
He's got MS? He looks fine! (Sorry, had to get that in). Jack has, or so we've been told, RRMS (Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis) and that is certainly not a fun thing. He's 26 and has a child with a significant other. I'm sure he does something, and, looking over the Wikipedia biography, does fit that group of people known as a television personality. Back in the day, he'd be on the Merv Griffin show, right after one of the Gabor sisters.
So, Jack, welcome to 1/2 million of us. Its too bad that the diagnosis of myself and the 499, 999 didn't rate the cover of People magazine. But such is celebrity. Glad to know that Mom Sharon will not let her son die from MS. And I understand you've become a bit of a spokesperson on MS, and I do hope that you've sat Sharon and Ozzy down and had a conversation that RRMS won't kill you (yes, there are people out there that insist it can happen) but can make for a miserable time now and then. I'm sure you'll get the best of doctors care, who will eventually tell you there's no cure, take this Copaxone shot, or these pills, get a good attitude and keep moving. The RRMS will abate now and then. There, that'll be three hundred dollars. Sharon, make the check out to cash, OK?
And Ozzy, YOU CAN LEAVE NOW! BYE! You are scaring the other patients! (remember, Jack, cut the stress).
To be fair, I never listened to Ozzy's music (even though "Crazy Train" came out in 1981 and fits my pre 1985 criteria). In fact, the only part of Crazy Train I've ever heard is the first nine seconds, because you'll hear that at sport events, introducing batters, or during perpetual time outs in basketball. I'm sure the rest of the song is just great, as are all his other things that has been, well, put out there. He doesn't seem to care for socks, though.
Anyone know who Sir Augustus Frederic D'Este is? First diagnosed case of MS. He was the grandson of King George III. Can you imagine what the royal family would be going through now if it was found that William or Henry had MS? With the Queen behind it, and her billions, we'd have a cure in a week. But Sir Augustus died in 1848, and nobody had a clue what to do, despite there no doubt being hundreds of cases of MS in Northern Europe, but only the rich guy got noticed. Because he could. Sir Augustus kept a diary in which he wrote out what would be considered now the normal symptoms of RRMS. He lived with the disease for 22 years, and, as is stated, kept a positive outlook. (See Jack? Just keep the sunny side up.) Sharon, please note. It's not always fun, but you can live with this. Sir Augustus set the standard. Too bad all the other people that had it lived in hovels, and/or were mostly illiterate
Sir Augustus died at the age of 54, but hey it was the first half of the 19th century. Ann Romney, Mitt's wife, has MS. David Lander ("Squiggy" on Laverne and Shirley) and Teri Garr have MS, though already there's a group out there going "Who?" Rock stars to writers, MS doesn't care about the size of your bank account.
Now today we've learned that Jack is claiming he was dismissed from a reality TV show upon the disclosure of his MS. The producers felt he could not complete the show's tasks, which were for celebrities to complete military type training. It might have been a good thing to show the world that MS folks can run a mile, or lots more, or climb ropes. We are still here, and we can still amaze.
Good luck, Jack, and to us all.
