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Marie Osmond Praises Brother Alan and Nephew David for Battling MS: ‘They Never Give Up’
Touching. Marie Osmond shared an inspiring message for brother Alan Osmond and nephew David Osmond amid their heartbreaking battles with multiple sclerosis.
“In the spirit of Super Bowl Sunday, my nephew David Osmond sent me this funny video of competitors in various sports who stopped seconds before actually crossing the finish line,” the 62-year-old beauty wrote in her lengthy Instagram post.
In the video, opponents across a series of races can be seen prematurely celebrating their win by flailing their arms up in the air before ultimately losing to an underdog adversary.
“It was so stunning how they thought they had finished — no, they were SURE they had finished — in fact they were already celebrating a victory, but there was one important component they ignored … they got too confident and ‘didn’t finish their game,'” the Donny & Marie star explained.
“While they started to celebrate a big win, they all had to do a double take as they watched their opponent come from behind and do what they had not done, be the first to cross the finish line,” she continued. “These competitors didn’t take into consideration there was still time on the clock or they hadn’t actually crossed the finish line. But the real winners did watch the clock and realized there was still time left and saw the finish line hadn’t been crossed yet.”
Marie sweetly gushed her story was inspired by her brother Alan, 70, and his 40-year-old son, David — who have both been open and honest about their struggles with MS. The iconic performer couldn’t help but praise her beloved family members for bravely battling the formidable disease.
“There are so many examples in life of people who simply did not give up,” she penned. “My brother Alan, his son, and my nephew, David, who sent the video all have MS. It’s a huge struggle, but they never give up. Instead, they use this motto every single day of their lives for a positive remembrance to find strength in their daily challenges: ‘I may have MS, but MS does not have me!'”
Overall, Marie — who is the sister to Alan, as well as brothers Virl Osmond, Tom Osmond, Wayne Osmond, Jay Osmond, Jimmy Osmond, Merrill Osmond and Donny Osmond — wants her fans to take away the lesson that this should be the “example of what you should do when life hands you hard things,” she wrote. “Let’s not give other folks a double take as they cross finish lines.”
David previously opened up about their difficult battle with MS — which “affects the brain and spinal cord” and causes “weakness, tingling and numbness,” according to WebMD — while chatting with Yahoo Lifestyle in March 2019.
“I remember as a kid my dad told us that he had something called MS,” the “Loneliest Walk” singer recalled of his first experience with his dad’s diagnosis. “We saw him start to decline physically. It was hard to see.”
Things got even harder when David was diagnosed with the chronic illness nearly 14 years ago when he was just 26 years old. “I took my shoes off and I turned to my girlfriend. I said, ‘My feet feel like they’re being run over by a steamroller,’” he painfully remembered. “Within a few weeks, that crushing feeling progressed up my legs. It was all the way up to my chest within a few months.”
If anyone’s got this, it’s the Osmonds!
