Clay Walker

(http://www.tunica-ms.com/clay_walker.htm)

Anybody can be a hero, for any reason in your mind. Although there are many heroes in my mind, one stands out and I think you’ll agree. Clay Walker is my hero because even though he has Multiple Sclerosis he is still touring and producing number one hits. Clay Walker is not only an inspiration to many aspiring artists but to every sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis. He is teaching and inspiring people to never give up on a dream no matter how small or big. He is teaching and inspiring people to live.

Born in Beaumont, Texas, Clay Walker began playing guitar at the age of nine. As a high school football star he would lock himself in the school's music department's practice room and there he taught himself the piano. At night he would play at different night club venues and one night while performing at the Neon Armadillo, a producer from Giant Records saw him and just had to have him. He signed with them and produced his first album in 1993. After three years, eleven number one singles, four albums, one daughter, and his career exploding to new heights, Clay Walker was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Clay Walker says that when he “was first diagnosed it was scary. No one could tell me whether I would still be able to perform and play with my children…”

(http://www.mswatch.com/therapy/section.aspx? SectionId=7d8b9283-22bf-4ac3-8c40-8556abde53e0)

On April 16 and 17, Walker will be trekking with Governor Rick Perry on the BP MS 150 Bike Tour. The BP MS 150 Bike Tour is a 150 mile bike tour that raises funds and awareness for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It runs from Houston to Austin. Walker says that “riding a bike outdoors is the best way to get cardio, especially for someone who has MS, personally I think it’s the most fun way to exercise.” Since the BP MS 150 Bike Tour started twenty one years ago, it has raised over 47 million dollars to end the effects of Multiple Sclerosis.

(http://publicaffairs.uth.tmc. edu/leaderupdate/archive/ 2004/walker.html)

Clay Walker didn't let Multiple Sclerosis stop him from living his life or achieving his dreams. “When I hear somebody say they aren’t taking any medication, it hurts my heart. It is important for people with relapsing-remitting MS to talk to their neurologist about the different drug therapy options. I take COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) and it has been incredible for me,” says Clay Walker. So he has decided to promote MS awareness. He knows how difficult MS is to live with and he lives his life making music and telling people about his battle with MS. In 2003 he finished his seventh album, "Just A Few Questions," and had launched a national tour to promote the album.

(http://www.amazon.com/)

In one lifetime Clay Walker has produced eleven number one hits, had four platinum albums, three gold albums, sold well over eight million copies of each, has been the opnly artist to have one of his songs on Billboard's year-end top 10 country hits for five consecutive years and diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the midst of all that. He is still producing number one hits. He is still touring, and now he is promoting MS Awareness. If that doesn't make a hero, then I don't know what does.

Some of Clay Walker's number one hits include:
-Live Until I Die
-What's it to You
-Dreaming with my Eyes Open
-If I could Make A Living
-This Women and This Man
-Boogie Till the Cows Come Home
-Let Me Take the Heartache (Off Your Hands)
-Hypnotize The Moon
-Rumor Has It
-Country Boy and City Girl
-Then What