Sitting on a white leather couch in the living room of his suburban Minneapolis home, Josh Harding doesn't get emotional as he tells his story.
He looks completely healthy. He doesn't seem scared. He speaks so confidently, so courageously, you'd never know his life has been altered forever.
"I don't look at this like I've got to take a new path," said Harding, drafted 10 years ago by the Wild and months off signing a new three-year contract. "This is a little bump in the road. I've had lots in life."
Harding, 28, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an incurable autoimmune disease in which the body randomly attacks and eats away the protective lining of his nerves and causes them to scar. It causes problems with balance, fatigue and blurred vision. There are 25,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States every year.
"I had a couple days where I felt bad for myself, but no more," said Harding, who plans on continuing his career. "There's things in life that happen. You deal with it."
After keeping the disease private from everyone other than his immediate family for more than a month, Harding began calling friends Wednesday. He spoke to nearly every one of his teammates. He called Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo.
"Josh's competitive fire has led him to a successful career in the NHL and we know he will approach this new battle in the same manner," Fletcher said.
And Harding has made clear that MS will not end his career.
"There's going to be some good days and bad days, but I think if you talk to anybody in life, there's going to be some good days and bad days," Harding said.
It started with a tweak in his neck. That evolved into dizziness, seeing black spots and numbness in his right leg.
"I just knew that something wasn't right," Harding said.
It was Sept. 27, and Harding went in for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging test on his neck. Wild doctor Dan Peterson noticed an abnormality and summoned Harding back to his Edina practice for an MRI of his brain. Peterson discovered lesions and called Harding back to his office that night.
"I told him I thought it was MS, and he wasn't like, 'Woe is me,' " Peterson said. "He's like, 'What do we do? Tell me how to go forward.'
" Over the next few weeks, Harding underwent a battery of tests to rule out other afflictions. He met with neurologist Jonathan Calkwood of the Minneapolis Clinic of Neurology, whom Peterson calls the "MS guru." Peterson's diagnosis was confirmed.
For six weeks, as Harding tried to gain control of the disease with the support of his parents, Tim and Eileen, sisters Stephanie and Becky, and his fiancee, Sara, Harding didn't work out. He didn't show up to skate with fellow locked-out players, who grew worried.
He has been put on an aggressive treatment of medication in order to prevent new lesions and thus further episodes of "immune system flareup."
"It bodes well that we got on it right away before he got into a cycle of getting run down," Peterson said. "Maybe he never has another episode. Seventy percent of people with MS still go on to live long, productive, fulfilling lives. And from the first day, Josh hasn't lost that 'I'm going to kick its butt' attitude, so he can do this."
Two weeks ago, Harding was cleared to skate again.
"The [other players] said after six weeks off, I didn't look out of place, which was big for me to hear," Harding said. "I don't want people moping"
Harding wants to create awareness and be an example for those suffering with MS. He's already considering a charitable foundation.
"Even if it changes one person's life to show that I'm not letting this come between me and my goals, that would be awesome," Harding said.
