All Chris Wright, 23, wanted to do was play professional basketball. Life has a way of changing plans.
CNN shared an interview with Chris who talked about his multiple sclerosis diagnosis. When he played for the Dallas Mavericks in 2013, he became the first known player in NBA history to have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
One day he "thought I slipped or something like that. But I noticed my foot started getting numb and it just got progressively worse."
By the time Wright showed up to practice the next morning, he had lost feeling in his right leg. Before practice was over, the numbness had spread to the entire right side of his body. But doctors initially said nothing was wrong and told him to take it easy.
“They told me just to rest for a day and see how it felt in the morning," he remembered.
"When I went back ... it had gotten worse. It was harder for me to walk, it had spread to my left foot and it just became, basically taking over my body -- it was crazy."
Like many of us, it takes a while to find the right doctor who can correctly diagnose an autoimmune disease. Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating disease that involves the immune system attacking the central nervous system. He had never heard of it before.
Fortunately, Wright was in peak physical condition at the time of his diagnosis, something he credits for how well he's doing today. What that tells us is that no matter how awful you feel, move your body. If you are in a wheelchair, move your arms. If you are not paralyzed, move your feet. You can do yoga in a chair and use weights while sitting down.
"Good physical condition, eating right, getting the proper rest, that all plays a major role," he explained. "Obviously you have to change a few things; you can't be going out all the time. ... But definitely my conditioning and being an athlete has definitely, definitely played a major role."
Not only did Wright return to the court less than three months after being diagnosed, he made history two weeks ago when he signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks. With the stroke of a pen, Wright became the first person with MS to play in the NBA. The Mavericks did not re-sign Wright when the 10-day contract expired.
Meanwhile, he said, "I'm doing pretty well. I have to do an IV injection once every month, that takes about a two-hour process," he said.
Asked what he would tell other patients with MS, Wright didn't hesitate:
"Don't be afraid to step out and do what you want to do," he said.
"Don't believe it's a crippling disease that will just handle you the rest of your life. Yeah, there may be limitations, but you can still live your life. And I just wear that sign on my chest proudly, and you know, I'm a part of the MS society."
Source of some of the article and quotes
Click here and scroll down for a link to my celebrity autoimmune series.
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