{"id":25511,"date":"2015-09-30T06:26:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T10:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=25511"},"modified":"2016-07-19T11:15:33","modified_gmt":"2016-07-19T15:15:33","slug":"tested-by-multiple-sclerosis-royals-honoree-amanda-williams-strives-for-no-regrets-in-the-classroom-on-the-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/tested-by-multiple-sclerosis-royals-honoree-amanda-williams-strives-for-no-regrets-in-the-classroom-on-the-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"Tested by multiple sclerosis, Royals honoree Amanda Williams strives for ‘no regrets’ in the classroom, on the pitch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amanda Williams<\/a><\/strong> (Millsboro, De.\/Delmarva Christian), striker for the women\u2019s soccer team<\/a>, learned that she had multiple sclerosis last October. \u00a0Through her hardships, she has continued to put God first, and has worked hard to become the best soccer player she can be.<\/p>\n

Last week, she scored three goals during the team\u2019s 7-0 win against Sweet Briar [Sept. 16]. Her first collegiate hat trick, along with perseverance through extreme adversity, has gained Williams recognition as Royals Athlete of the Week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying my hardest,\u201d Williams said. \u00a0\u201cSome days are harder than others but I feel like this season has been a lot better for me. \u00a0I feel like it\u2019s kind of clicking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams started playing soccer when she was only three years old, and dedicated her time to numerous travel teams. At Delmarva Christian High School, she recalls being the leading scorer of her team. \u00a0There she became comfortable with her position as striker, but during her first year at Eastern Mennonite, she was switched to midfielder.<\/p>\n

She remarked, \u201cIt messes with your mind when you play a position you don\u2019t like.\u201d<\/p>\n

But her position change was not the only thing that was messing with her mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had really bad vertigo (last season) which is dizziness,\u201d Williams explained. \u201cI\u2019d be running straight but I\u2019d feel like I was going sideways, like I was on a ship. \u00a0I had trouble talking a little bit, and had numbness in my hands and fingers. \u00a0I also had a hard time focusing in class and was really tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multiple sclerosis, also known as \u201cMS,\u201d affects more than two million people worldwide. \u00a0It is an incurable disease in which the immune system takes away from the protective wall of one\u2019s nerves. With this disease symptoms may include problems with muscle control, balance, vision, or speech. Unfortunately, Amanda experienced all of them during her freshman season.<\/p>\n

Multiple sclerosis is “basically it\u2019s like lesions in my brain,” Williams explains. “So part of my brain is attacking itself. It can affect me in many different ways, I just realized I had it last October. I was suffering from the symptoms all season, which is a big difference between this season and last season. (This season) I\u2019ve not really had symptoms. \u00a0Last season I had no idea what was going on and I thought it was just me. \u00a0I said to myself, \u2018Oh it\u2019s just college, it\u2019s different, I\u2019m stressed out,\u2019 and I was just making a million excuses as to what was wrong with me. \u00a0The trainers were finally at a point where they said I had to go to the hospital. \u00a0So I went and three days later they told me I had MS.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor told Williams that the disease most likely began when she was only 12.<\/p>\n

After she heard this news, she recalled many previous times when she was unexplainably sick.\u00a0 She finally knew the cause. However,\u00a0 she says it\u2019s also hard knowing that she has a disease which doesn\u2019t have a cure.<\/p>\n

Once diagnosed, Williams decided that MS would not slow her down or make her change her work ethic. \u00a0Over the summer she spent time teaching high schoolers, conditioning, and working on her skills.<\/p>\n

She explained that coaching made her view soccer from a new perspective. \u00a0Being a helper is something Williams is very good at. \u00a0Not only is she a community assistant on campus, but she also serves as her team\u2019s \u201cspiritual leader.\u201d She counts her friends at the top of her support system.<\/p>\n

Having MS has put life into a new perspective, Williams says. “It\u00a0 makes little things not seem that bad. If I\u2019m tired before a game I have to say, \u2018You might not be able to walk one day, so play your hardest. \u00a0No regrets.\u2019 \u00a0This year I want to get all A\u2019s and I want to be able to say that I gave everything I had for soccer. \u00a0I don\u2019t care if I score again or not, just as long as I gave my best. \u00a0That\u2019s all that I really care about. I want to glorify God.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amanda Williams (Millsboro, De.\/Delmarva Christian), striker for the women\u2019s soccer team, learned that she had multiple sclerosis last October. \u00a0Through her hardships, she has continued to put God first, and ... read more about Tested by multiple sclerosis, Royals honoree Amanda Williams strives for ‘no regrets’ in the classroom, on the pitch<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5720],"tags":[16008,6795],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-25511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens-soccer","tag-amanda-williams","tag-diversity"],"yoast_head":"\nTested by multiple sclerosis, Royals honoree Amanda Williams strives for 'no regrets' in the classroom, on the pitch - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/tested-by-multiple-sclerosis-royals-honoree-amanda-williams-strives-for-no-regrets-in-the-classroom-on-the-pitch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tested by multiple sclerosis, Royals honoree Amanda Williams strives for 'no regrets' in the classroom, on the pitch - 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