SPRINGDALE — Shiloh Christian football coach Josh Floyd was diagnosed with early stages of multiple sclerosis on Thursday, but the 32-year-old said he doesn't plan for the disorder to alter his lifestyle or job performance.
Floyd, who also serves as the school's athletics director, said he began feeling tingling in his left arm and later his left leg Monday and Tuesday, prompting him to see a neurologist.
"The only reason I went to see a doctor was because in college they found an abnormal blood vessel on my brain, which caused me to quit playing college football," said Floyd, who graduated from Ouachita Baptist University. "When we told them about that, it caused concern pretty quick and they decided to do an MRI.
"This has nothing to do with that, but the MRI allowed them to find the multiple sclerosis."
Shiloh Christian president Ben Mayes announced the news in a release late Thursday, prompting several phone calls and text messages of support from Floyd's colleagues and former teammates. Floyd said he will seek a second opinion, possibly from a specialty clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
While he would have preferred to keep his diagnosis a private matter, Floyd said he decided to go public because of several questions from parents and supporters stemming from missed practice time earlier in the week.
"A lot of people knew I had been in the hospital and had been undergoing some tests," Floyd said. "There was some concern, so we thought it would be better for us to be proactive and get ahead of rumors starting up.
"The more people that know, the more people you have praying for you. We believe in that."
Floyd is 89-19 in eight seasons at his alma mater, winning four state championships and finishing runner-up once. Shiloh, a private school operated by Cross Church in Springdale, will move up in classification to 5A next season.
Floyd coached the team's annual spring game and later met with parents on Thursday, just hours after receiving his diagnosis.
"I was excited to get out there," Floyd said. "We had a good spring game and a good crowd, a lot of food and fun.
"The doctor said I'm going to get to live a long, normal life and still coach, exercise, play with my kids and all those things."