Why Jack Osbourne Is Working to Dispel Myths About MS
Jack Osbourne is working to dispel myths about MS.
— -- Jack Osbourne was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years ago, and in that time he has hosted a paranormal investigation TV show, competed on “Dancing With the Stars” and had two children.
Today, the 29-year-old will appear in a new animated video to dispel myths about MS, an incurable autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. The video is part of his ongoing “You Don’t Know Jack About MS” awareness campaign with pharmaceutical company Teva Neuroscience.
In the video, cartoon versions of Jack and a doctor travel through the human body to discover what causes the symptoms of RRMS, or relapsing remitting MS. Osborne has this type of the disease.
Speaking to ABC’s Sara Haines about the “You Don’t Know Jack About MS” campaign, Osbourne said it was born out of necessity.
“When I got diagnosed, you know I'd go online and you go to certain medical websites, and this and that. I really couldn't find anything that was just a real clean concise, consistent message about -- here's MS, here's what it is, here's some information on how to kind of take care of yourself, and here's some people's experience,” he said.
Haines asked him about the biggest myth about MS.
“I mean, there's so many,” he said. “Probably the biggest myth that I get frustrated by is that, you know, I think people automatically assume that you're no longer able-bodied.
“And you know, there are so many symptoms to MS and that's what makes it such a difficult disease to kind of tackle because you know, if someone might be the exact same age as me get diagnosed the exact same day but our symptoms be completely different.”
The MS was a motivator for his fierce competitiveness on “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I went in it being like 'Hey, you know what, I'm going to do this. I'm going to kind of prove a point,’” he said. “You know … when I'm asked what we are capable of doing, what everyone else can do and, you know, trying to break down some of the stigmas associated with it.”
Asked about his current health situation, Osbourne said he wasn’t “experiencing any continuing symptoms as it stands right now.”
Osbourne and his wife, Lisa Stelly, welcomed daughter Andy Rose, in June. Their first child, daughter Pearl Clementine, was born in 2012.
