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The disease that almost claimed David Osmond's performing career struck dramatically.

The kid from Provo's Osmond Lane always loved performing. He grew up to claim a place for himself in the family business, first as the lead singer in his brothers' Osmonds 2nd Generation band and later as a singer/songwriter.

At 26, while performing a Christmas Eve 2005 concert at the LDS Church's Missionary Training Center in Provo, he was suddenly struck with crushing pain in his feet, and then felt pain in his chest. His eyesight failed, and he suffered temporary paralysis in his legs that caused him to frequently trip and fall, landing him in a wheelchair.

"For a better part of a year, my life was completely flipped upside down," he says. When he received a diagnosis of relapsing multiple sclerosis, a different version of his father, Alan's, illness, at first he was in denial.

Over time, with the help of doctors, he learned to manage his symptoms. He returned to performing, competing on TV's "American Idol" in 2009 and substituting for his uncle Donny and performing with his aunt Marie in the duo's long-running Las Vegas show and on tour.

Now 36, Osmond is promoting an orange emoji campaign to draw attention to the chronic disease and to raise funds that could eventually lead to a cure. He's asking people to post photos of orange emoji — oranges altered to send a message — on the OurVoiceinSong.com website, which offers resources for those with MS. (Orange is the official color of MS awareness campaigns, including World MS Day that was commemorated Wednesday.)

Also posted is Osmond's inspirational song "I Can Do This," with a video directed by Utah filmmaker T.C. Christensen. Osmond is touring to appear and perform at MS walks and other events, including a June 7 performance in Salt Lake City. (See box for details.)

More than 400,000 people in the United States have the disease, as well as millions more worldwide, Osmond says.

The singer manages his symptoms through medication, diet and exercise, but his MS hasn't gone away.

"I still feel pain in my legs and have balance issues," says the father of three children, who recounts the first time he heard his then-2-year-old daughter pray to bless his MS. "I still feel it every second of every day."

Osmond says he carefully monitors his body while performing, which might mean singing a duet on a stool, or grabbing a guitar to rest a bit while his legs recover from more physical dance moves.

"And I have the bladder of a 98-year-old," he says. "I know what my limits are. Heat is hard on me. Diet affects me. I'm more in touch with my body than ever before."

Because the illness causes different symptoms, he urges that those with MS seek help from doctors to find individual tools. "I'm passionate about being your own advocate and fighting for yourself," he says.

facebook.com/ellen.weist —

Fly me to Utah

David Osmond will return to Utah to perform at the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City on June 7 at 7 p.m., along with his bandleader friend Caleb Chapman, of the Crescent Super Band. The singer says he will debut songs from a forthcoming album, devoted to songs from the Great American Songbook.

More • For information and resources about MS, visit OurVoiceinSong.com, where you can register to download Osmond's song "I Can Do This."