Jack Osbourne might have felt like he was at one of dad Ozzy Osbourne's summer rock festivals instead of joining his mother, Sharon, along with the other ladies close of The Talk, as he walked on stage to deafening chants of "Jack, Jack!" from the audience that continued for several minutes. In typically, off-the-cuff, self-effacing manner, he reacted with the words, "you'd think I have MS or something," before reassuring everyone that he was "fine" at this moment in his fifth week of being amongst the 400,000 with the disease, and among the several "persons of note" in show business to live its impact, including Teri Garr, Montel Williams, and the brave Annette Funicello, who was among the first to go public in 1992 with her condition. More than the famous names, Jack credited the "3,000 tweets" from MS patients of all ages who have offered messages this support, detailing how they have lived full lives, MS notwithstanding.
One of the most troublesome symptoms for the Osborne son was the blindness in his right eye, which at first was near complete, and now it's back to about 80%, he estimates. Osbourne was prompted to follow-up with tests after a particularly strenuous day of stunts for his new SyFy Channel reality show, Haunted Highway, which premieres July 3. He describes multiple sclerosis as "arthritis of the nerves," which explains the unpredictability of function from one day to the next. Jack thinks he has had symptoms for about three years, ranging from bladder trouble to stomach issues, and then numbness in the legs following a twitch in his back at one of his dad's shows. The official diagnosis came on May 10, but mum Sharon let everyone, including co-host, Sarah Gilbert, think her misty eyes were an emotional response to the President's remarks in support of gay marriage! Jack Osbourne has another staunch ally at his side in fiancée Lisa Stelly. The dark-haired beauty put it matter-of-factly, "We're gonna be OK." She wasn't just referring to her husband's new television project or his commitment to be "somewhat vocal" as an advocate for MS patients and research. "We have diapers to change," and life to live with new baby daughter, Pearl. Far from discouragement, his new diagnosis has given Jack and his family new purpose for living.
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