By Alan on Jun 21 in Blog tagged against MS, Alan Osmond, all-natural treatments, alternative medicines, blender, daily battle, David Osmond, diagnosis, dibilitation, disease, essential, Family, Father and Son, fighting spirit, golf cart, greatest act, homeopathic, hydro-exercise, lean meat, leg brace, Mormon faith, multiple sclerosis, never complained, no caffinated beverages, no casein, no drinking, no gluten, no smoking, nutrition, osmonds second generation, protein, refined flour, spouse, steroids, sugar, Suzanne Osmond, symptons, The Osmond Family, the show must go on, the whole family, unconditional love, viris, wheelchair, Winning | 2 Comments

Alan and David Osmond

Courtesy of David Osmond

Growing up Osmond comes with certain expectations: You sing, you dance and no matter what, the show must go on.

This has never been a problem for David Osmond, one of eight sons of Alan Osmond, the oldest of the famous brothers who shot to fame in the 1960s and ’70s. David, 32, continued the family’s pop legacy as the lead singer for Osmonds Second Generation, competed on American Idol in 2009 and released a solo album in 2010.

But just seven years ago David’s career — and life — were suddenly in jeopardy: He could not sing, play guitar or even walk because of pain in his chest and paralysis stretching from his toes to his diaphragm. Multiple sclerosis was soon diagnosed, just as it had been in his father 20 years earlier when he was in his late 30s. (Siblings or children of people with MS have a 1 in 40 risk of also contracting the disease, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.)

“When I originally received the diagnosis,” David tells me, “I had already tested positive for West Nile virus, but some of the symptoms did not match up. So they tested me for MS and found I had the disease. My doctors believe it may have been dormant in my system, but was triggered by the virus.”

Affecting 2.5 million people worldwide, MS is an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. It interferes with the transmission of signals to the brain and spinal cord, triggering unpredictable and often debilitating symptoms. MS can cause numbness, tingling and searing pain in the extremities; periods of partial or full blindness; loss of sensory function, like taste or smell; and even paralysis. The cause is not clear and there is no cure, but the effectiveness of long-term drug treatments has improved.

MS affects every patient differently. Most, like David, experience flare-ups that can vary in length and severity, followed by periods of remission with few or no symptoms. “It’s like a roller coaster,” David has said. His father, however, is among the 15 percent of MS patients who have the progressive form of the disease, marked by a slow degeneration of the body’s functions.

At first, David was devastated by the diagnosis. “I was in complete denial,” he admits. Sitting in a wheelchair in 2005, watching his brother’s children playing with their dad, he wondered, “Will I ever have that?”

But now, David says, “I’m almost embarrassed to admit that is how I felt, because when I looked from my brother and my nieces and nephews to my dad, I realized, here is this man who has lived with MS for 20 years — and he has never complained. I realized that life can go on and you can find ways around this disease, just like my dad did.”

(MORE: Multiple Sclerosis: Increasing Quality of Life)

Both father and son have learned to live with MS and deal with its inherent obstacles and dire prognosis. Powerful steroid shots helped David get out of his wheelchair four years ago, enabling him to walk down the aisle with his bride, Valerie, at their wedding. (They began dating before his diagnosis.) “I proposed to her from my wheelchair and she said yes,” he says, “so being able to walk down the aisle with her was something I just knew I had to do.”

David still experiences some pain in his legs, but he has not been back in his wheelchair. He and Valerie now have two daughters, ages 1 and 3.

“I know it’s crazy to say, but it is actually a great time to have MS,” says David, who sits on the board of the Nancy Davis Foundation for MS. (See footage of David and other stars at the foundation’s Race to Erase MS gala.) “The numerous choices we now have to attack this disease that is attacking our bodies are encouraging. I truly think MS is one of the chronic illnesses that may be cured in my lifetime.”

Counting on Nutrition and Family

Part of the Osmonds’ approach to battling MS is an embrace of homeopathic remedies, like aromatherapy. “I was given a cortisone shot when I was first diagnosed in 1987,” Alan says, “and it just about killed me. It was right then that I decided there has to be a better way and I started investigating alternative medicines.”

The Osmonds do not take traditional MS drugs but they do support research into better treatments for the disease. For themselves, though, they believe all-natural treatments and diet choices represent their best chance to keep the disease at bay. Both men follow healthy, all-natural diets that include no gluten (which is found in wheat-based products), no casein (milk protein), no sugar and no refined flour; Alan combines fruits and vegetables in his blender for most meals. They occasionally eat lean meat but prefer to get their protein from omega-3-rich fish. Further, Alan takes a variety of all-natural dietary supplements, including Vitamin D, each day; David takes up to 50 daily supplements. In keeping with the tenets of their Mormon faith, neither man smokes or drinks coffee or caffeinated beverages.

Overall, each man says he has worked to educate himself about MS and has tried various approaches to discover what works best for his own body. Each encourages other MS patients to do the same.

Alan credits his wife, Suzanne, with pointing him toward the alternative treatments that have allowed him, so far, to defy the odds of his grim prognosis. His doctors expected he’d be in a wheelchair by now, but he generally walks without assistance, only occasionally employing a leg brace or golf cart. Alan also participates in hydro-exercise; the buoyancy of the water, he says, takes the pressure off his often-painful joints and helps him maintain balance while going through his exercises.

Both Osmonds believe the unconditional love of a spouse is essential for anyone facing a chronic illness. “It is not just one person who gets MS,” Alan says. “It is the whole family. You have to have the drive and desire to keep living and keep fighting for yourself and those around you.”

Their thriving marriages defy the odds: According to a National Health Institute Survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75 percent of marriages in which one spouse has a chronic illness end in divorce — a rate 50 percent higher than for other marriages.

“Sometimes dealing with something like multiple sclerosis can make your marriage better,” David says. “I know both my wife and I have learned more patience with each other through this journey and I absolutely would not be where I am at today in conquering MS without her.”

As we wound up our interview, David’s girls were calling to him from the next room, eager to get back to playing Legos and watching Disney movies with their dad, experiences that, a few years ago, he was not sure he would ever be able to share. Later, I saw this tweet from David: “Going to make t-shirts for my girls that say ‘Having MS gets on my dad’s nerves.’”

Sherri Snelling’s book on celebrity caregivers, A Cast of Caregivers, will be published by Balboa Press in January 2013.

By Alan on Apr 05 in Blog tagged better communities, By their fruits ye shall know them, Christian beliefs, Christians, healthiest people in the world, Hypertensive disease, Infectious disease, Kidney disease, lowest divorce rate, Merrill Osmond, Mitt Romney, Mormons, Mormons have the lowest incidnce of: Heart disease, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Osmond Family, tuberculosis, Venereal diseases, who we really are | 5 Comments

By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them

As I have stood with my brothers performing throughout the world and defending our faith and beliefs for the last 54 years, I have gradually seen the cynics start leaving us alone as to the wild and distorted rumors and false accusations of our beliefs.  The knowledge of who we really are, and how our Christian beliefs were a part of our daily life caused many to stop judging us, and start to observe a little bit better.

When the Savior made the statement, “By their fruits ye shall know them…,” Matt. 7: 20  He really made a lot of judgmental people look at themselves before they started poking fun at others. And create tension that didn’t need to be there.

Statistics around the world have shown that the Mormons are the highest educated people at every grade level including college, graduate school and post graduate school.

The Mormons are the healthiest people in the world..This has-been shown by studies, including a recent study by the UCLA Medical school which showed the incidence regarding good health weighed Mormons at 50% of the national average.

Mormons have the lowest incidence of:
Heart disease
Tuberculosis
Venereal diseases
Kidney disease
Hypertensive disease
Infectious diseases

There are many prominent Mormons in our government.  There are Mormon congressmen and senators, generals and admirals. And now possibly the GOP candidate for president of the united states. There are many Mormons  in the medical field, hundreds in large corporations.  We have them in the television and motion picture business, and in the sports
world as well…….Mormons are everywhere!

Divorces among Mormons married in the temple is 1/10th the national rate.

If the world would look at the Mormons as they should be looked at, they would see a solid Christ like people who are good decent citizens doing the best they can to make their communities and homes a better and more safe place to live.

If people would simply take the time to ask a Mormon regarding their beliefs on various religious issues, rather than hearing what someone else without the facts thinks they stand for, would see for themselves that the Mormons are doing what a good citizen should be doing in their communities and at home.  If people would do this, they might just find out that Mormons are more Christian than a lot of other Christian beliefs.

I’m saying all this because I spent two hours last night after the show explaining to a very uninformed individual how wrong he was in his judgment towards the Mormons. He had watched a BBC tv special on Mitt Romney that was extremely anti Mormon, and that he felt he needed to help “save the Osmond family from going to Hell”!

If people would just study and get the facts, the persecution of wonderful individuals trying to do the right thing in a very confused world would disappear. All I can say in conclusion is, remember what our savior said,

“By their fruits ye shall know them”,

Merrill Osmond 

Learn more about us Mormons?

By Alan on Feb 27 in Blog tagged a to z, alan, Alan Osmond, are we related, Clayton and Ethel Brough, cousins, Donny, Donny Osmond, Family History, focus, genealogy, George and Olive Osmond, George Osmond Sr., Hi Cousin!, http://osmond.com, Jay, jimmy, Jimmy Osmond, LDS Tabernacle Choir, Marie, Merrill, moments, Mormons, Osmond Family, Osmond family history representatives, Osmond Research and Extraction OProject, surname, temple work, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Family, The Osmond Family, Tom, Virl, Wayne | Comments Off

Family history moments: Family’s focus

….Strengthening The Family

By Alan on Dec 26 in Blog tagged alone, Approved, blessed, broke, dedication, Donny Osmond, Excitement, faithful, Family, happy, Loneliness, loving, Marie, married, Mormon, One Take, Popular, religious, rich, Show Business, successful, survival in the entertainment business, tested, thankful, The Family, The Osmond Family, The Osmonds, together, work | 9 Comments

Family, Work, Dedication, Loneliness, Excitement, One Take, Loving, Popular, Rich, Broke, Tested, Religious, Approved, Married, Faithful, Mormon, Thankful, Successful, Alone, Together, Blessed, Happy . . .
Donny Osmond of The Osmond Family.

.

This is a glorious time in which to live here upon the earth.

As we travel through life, there come times when we must stand up and be counted. These are times of testing. Are we on the Lord’s side, keeping his commandments? Do we sustain our leaders and uphold them? Do we stand steadfast and unwavering?  Do we compromise those things we know are true?

It is a temptation to become so involved in the things of the world that we lose sight of more important values, the things of the spirit and family.  We tried to do this with our music.

All the effort and struggle and sorrow will be well worth it, for we will have earned the greatest of all gifts, the gift of eternal life. May this be our happy lot, I humbly pray.

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” 2 Tim. 4: 7

Families are Forever
For The Family

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