If he can t ward off what feels like an impending relapse, he s out of the game. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord that gradually destroys the myelin, the fatty covering that insulates nerve cell fibers in the brain and spinal cord. This can temporarily but increasingly interfere with the transmission of nerve impulses to the rest of the body. At first, the effects may include deteriorating vision, a loss of balance, and weakness or trembling of the arms and legs and hands while in use. Recovery from relapses requires bed rest and the avoidance of overfatigue and mental stress.
Remission is common, but over decades, the disease can eventually lead to complete paralysis.
Willey, whose MS was diagnosed in 1993, seven years after he began playing computer golf, knows all this. As does his wife, Lori-Ann. She is watching his mouse hand shake back and forth. It s bad, she thinks. He can t go on.