by Rhetta Peoples

Created on: September 20, 2008

In spite of a degenerative muscle disease, nothing can keep Grammy Award winning vocalist Will Downing from making a comeback. His latest album, "After Tonight" was the hardest record he has ever had to record. It was recorded from his wheelchair. Will said, "Every word, every breath, gave special meaning to this album".

Will adds, "I've never spent more than an hour in the hospital. I was one of those guys that would be crying on the floor and praying to God if I had a stomachache or a headache. All I knew was I was in a whole lot of pain. Nurses were jabbing me with needles and shock treatment. They kept coming back with what they thought it might be, different things like Gillium Beret disease. By deduction, they realized what it was."

Polymyositis was the diagnosis. Will suffers from a disease defined as a chronic, progressive inflammatory disease of the skeletal muscle. It begins when white blood cells spontaneously invade the muscles. Polymyositis is found mostly in people over the age of 20 and affects more women than men.

One of the toughest things to deal with through all of this was having his daughter see the man of the house like this. "She sees me in a wheelchair and is looking at me like Daddy get up.'"

The soulful artist who gets his inspiration from musicians like Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire and The Ohio Players said "I had gotten where I couldn't do the very basic things in life. I couldn't put my bags onto the overheard bin in the airplane compartment. I felt like someone was holding on to my legs when I walked. I'm one of those hardheaded brothers and it had to be bad for me to go to the doctor. Even still, after that, I took my wife and daughter to the movies and when I dropped them off to go inside, I went to park the car. I had to make a sharp turn and I couldn't turn the steering wheel. I didn't want to alarm my 11-year old daughter so I sat down next to my wife in the theatre and said you're going to have to drive home. After that, I went to the doctor. They took blood and thirty minutes later they called back and said go to the hospital right now. I spent about six or seven months in the hospital."

Will had excellent advice for others going through life's battles. "Keep your faith. It's the only thing you have to rely on. Everyday will not be sunshine. When this happened to me, I was cussing God like a champ. But you have to push yourself to the limit. You have to be around to do it. If you really have the will to live, you can do it. Surround yourself with positive people. Don't let man tell you, you can't do it. God can do anything."

Learn more about this author, Rhetta Peoples.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.