He says that he still has “plenty” in his life and reports that his days are filled with time spent with his kids and grandkids, working for his law firm and writing. What is Green’s attitude about his current state of being? Surprisingly, it is one of gratitude. He now speaks in “halting, computer-generated sentences.” He is “nestled practically motionless in the high-tech chair that allows him to function” residing in “a body that can no longer survive without constant assistance.” He communicates and writes using a device that tracks his gaze as he selects letters on a screen to create messages that the device types out for conversations, or as a chapter in his next book.Īccording to the story, Green’s “powerful tenor voice that once melodically coursed over public radio airwaves” has been transformed.
So, it was a bit of a shock to read this recent description of Green in The Times:Ī ventilator keeps him breathing. In retirement, he also practiced law and has written more than 20 books, including several that made the NY Times bestseller list. You may have heard him in the past as a commentator with a booming voice on NPR’s Morning Edition. Green is 57 and a former linebacker and defensive end who played for the Atlanta Falcons. Yet, through some miracle of the universe ( possibly God), they have found a way to see the beauty in life, to find comfort in the everyday things we too often take for granted. They have, in effect, become prisoners in their own bodies, requiring round-the-clock care. There is no cure.īoth Gleason and Green are in the advanced stages of ALS. This irreversible nervous system disorder causes the gradual loss of muscle control throughout the body, until the only thing you can move are your eyes. Today they both have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Steve Gleason and Tim Green are former NFL players who by football standards had long careers, playing in the pros for 7 and 8 years each. It’s about 2 men facing the kind of adversity you and I can only imagine and how they not only overcome it but thrive in spite of it. The next time you’re feeling sorry for yourself-maybe you’ve had a bad day at work or an argument with your spouse or you’re feeling the aches and pains of aging-you might want to remember this story.
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