Michael Sean McCary

Michael Sean McCary (born December 16, 1971) is an American singer, known for being a former bass singer of the R&B group Boyz II Men (in which he was sometimes known as Mike Bass).

Former Boyz II Men singer Michael McCary revealed the reason behind his decision to take a step back from the popular ’90s R&B collective.

According to McCary, he’s been battling the disorder — an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body – for more than 20 years. “It sent me into like a depression,” McCary said of why he’s been so coy about his battle.

Although the cause of MS is still unknown – researchers believe “the disease is triggered by unidentified environmental factors” in an individual who is generally inclined to respond, says the National MS Society.

“When I first saw of the ailments start to happen, it was like little back spasms at first and it would get stronger and stronger,” McCary revealed of the sickness targeting at least two to three times more women than men, between the ages of 20 and 50. “Once I was about 22, it started going full scale.”

To put “full scale” into perspective, McCary revealed that doctors told him he had a “locked” nerve in his back that could potentially sever and leave him paralyzed. “They were saying that I have a nerve around the sciatica that was locked in place that could sever if I stepped wrong,” he said.

Of course, not all symptoms of MS cause paralysis. Because MS wreaks havoc on the CNS (central nervous system) basic functions including vision, taste, and mobility may be altered.