More MS news articles for April 2003

Ex-CFL star says MS devastated his family, but can’t destroy positive attitude

http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/6/2003-04-07/13587

April 07, 2003
RED DEER, Alta. (CP)

Henry (Gizmo) Williams had no trouble breaking Canadian Football League records but admits he can’t conquer a disease that wiped out his family.

The former Edmonton Eskimo told a recent conference on chronic illness that he sometimes feels he has multiple sclerosis.

"I’ve seen what my family has gone through with MS. I’ve seen the process — how they start shaking, they lose their voice, they’re bedridden," said Williams.

But he won’t be tested to see if he has MS, an incurable disease of the central nervous system.

"If you have something and there is no cure, why worry about it? You can’t worry about things you can’t control."

Williams returned 1,002 punts for 11,134 yards and 333 kickoffs for 7,291 yards and two touchdowns. Both are CFL records.

He credits his "God-given" athletic talent with helping him survive a challenged life in the black ghetto of Memphis, Tenn.

His family was devastated by misfortune. First his mother died when Williams was five. A year later, his father died in a house fire.

Since then, seven of his 10 siblings have died from MS. Another brother was shot to death in Memphis and a sister died of a drug overdose.

Williams was raised by an older brother who eventually died, and then by an aunt who struggled to keep the family out of the welfare system.

"Nobody in my family lived to be over 38. I’m 39."

His secret to success and survival is believing in himself and leaving the past behind. Above all, he doesn’t worry because "stress beats you down."

"Everyone has a disease in life. Don’t use it as an excuse not to live life," said Williams, a father of two sons who have tested negative for MS.

"As hard as it has been, I would never use my mother, father and brothers as an excuse."

Williams became a professional football player in 1983 with the Memphis Showboats. He then joined the Eskimos in Edmonton where he made a name for himself in football and in the community. He raised millions for community groups.

Williams was speaking Saturday at the first symposium on multiple sclerosis in Red Deer. The conference was sponsored by the MS Society of Canada’s Central Alberta Chapter.