Wild G Josh Harding diagnosed with MS

[Deebo]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/181297631.html?refer=y

 

[louisstamos]

Ouch.  Poor guy.  Right after signing a very nice contract too.

I wish him the best.  MS is a difficult disease to deal with.  Glad to hear he still wants to play hockey too, although I imagine his career will be much shorter now.

 

[Justin]

Tough news to hear. I'm not overly familiar with MS, and if someone here is, is it possible for him to still play through this disease for a long time?

 

[L K]

Tough news to hear. I'm not overly familiar with MS, and if someone here is, is it possible for him to still play through this disease for a long time?

It probably won't affect his career too much but that really depends on the variant of the disease that he has.  There are some forms that are more of a rapid degeneration of neurologic activity.  Others take a very slow path.  The average life expectancy for someone with MS is really only a few years less than the average healthy person.

It might affect his career if he has a particularly bad attack during a season though.

 

[dappleganger]

Tough news to hear. I'm not overly familiar with MS, and if someone here is, is it possible for him to still play through this disease for a long time?

My best friend has MS. He was diagnosed about 4 years ago. It effects everyone who has it differently. Some cases are mild, some more severe, ie: needing the use of a wheelchair.

Before he was diagnosed, my friend was having a lot of trouble with his vision and being weak but now with medication, he's back to normal.

He's very articulate with his motor skills and really the only worry is having a relapse and experiencing an episode.

I think it's safe to say my friend's MS is a mild case.

I would say from my knowledge it would be possible for Harding to continue his career but the MS will have some effect on it.

 

[Peter D.]

Tough news to hear. I'm not overly familiar with MS, and if someone here is, is it possible for him to still play through this disease for a long time?

As suggested by the others, it all depends on the severity of it. 

One of my good friends has it.  Has had it for over 10 years, and you wouldn't know it.  He looks fine, nor has it really hampered his physical abilities.  He may get an attack once in a while which forces him to be bed-ridden.  But if one's diligent in taking the proper medication/injections, it could extremely reduce the severity.  Another big factor is diet.  My friend, if he eats a lot of garbage, has an attack triggered more easily.  Eating right would go a long way.  And for Harding, being a professional athlete, he is way ahead of the game in terms of knowing about eating right.

Unfortunate news to hear, but glad he is keeping a positive mindset.  With a strong will, he could get through this without it drastically changing his life.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Not just for Josh Harding but for all MS and immune-disease related sufferers...


Breakthrough nanoparticle halts multiple sclerosis

 

[Courtnall]

My aunt has it. Can't walk on her own, bad balance. Had the stent in her neck last year, improved slightly but back to where she was.