Tamia can sing...like really "sang." Hands down. The six-time Grammy nominee is best known for her first Top 40 hit on the R&B charts "You Put a Move on My Heart", her 2001 hit "Stranger in My House", Fabolous' 2003 hit "Into You" (which samples her 1998 song "So into You"), and her 2012 hit "Beautiful Surprise."
From the moment she started singing, Tamia went on to make several albums, got married to NBA star Grant Hill and had children. She was living the good life, touring and making a home by being a wife and mother.
But she and hubby Grant revealed later in 2003 that she had a diagnosis of MS. At first Tamia didn't want to tell anyone that she had multiple sclerosis, because she wasn't sure what it was.
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When she did find out what it was and that it wasn't a "death" sentence, they came forward and let everyone know. She wanted people to know that she was managing her symptoms and that having MS is not a sign of weakness.
Their first child, Myla Grace Hill was born in 2002. Lael Rose Hill was born five years later. The young mom didn't have any problems with her pregnancies. Multiple sclerosis seems to slow down and ease the symptoms during pregnancies. It may have something to do with the higher hormone levels women have during pregnancy.
"I'm not shy or ashamed to talk about MS, I'm currently in remission," Tamia said "I'm just thankful and blessed that I can still do the things I love to do, a wife, mom, singer, performer, and a business woman."
Tamia first felt the symptoms of MS around the same time Grant was dealing with a knee injury. She rushed him to the hospital with an infection. While he was recovering she began feeling more tired than normal.
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She was also feeling numbness in her legs and other parts of her body. The tables were turned and now Grant was taking her to the hospital. Doctors first thought the numbness was from a pinched nerve and gave her muscle relaxants.
With MS, People may experience:
Pain areas: in the back or eyes
Pain circumstances: can occur in the back due to head nod or with eye movement
Tremor: can occur during precise movements, in the hands, or limbs
Muscular: cramping, inability to rapidly change motions, involuntary movements, muscle paralysis, muscle rigidity, muscle weakness, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, clumsiness, muscle spasms, or overactive reflexes
Whole body: fatigue, dizziness, heat intolerance, poor balance, vertigo, or weakness
Sensory: pins and needles, abnormality of taste, reduced sensation of touch, or uncomfortable tingling and burning
Urinary: excessive urination at night, leaking of urine, persistent urge to urinate, or urinary retention
Visual: blurred vision, double vision, or vision loss
Sexual: erectile dysfunction or sexual dysfunction
Mood: anxiety or mood swings
Speech: slurred speech or impaired voice
Other common symptoms are: constipation, depression, difficulty swallowing, difficulty thinking and understanding, flare, headache, heavy legs, limping, numbness of face, rapid involuntary eye movement, sleep deprivation, tongue numbness, or difficulty raising the foot.
What next for Tamia?
Tamia takes an injection every other day and manages the symptoms. She has great support from her husband, Grant and other family members. The constants in her life, family, faith, and music, keep her going from day to day. She knows there's no cure yet, but she refuses to stop performing, in spite of having MS
