Steve Gleason is currently battling ALS. He has been receiving medication and diagnosis for the disease since he revealed that he was battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease)
He has also become a pioneer in the ALS awareness community. In 2019, Gleason was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to ALS awareness.
Gleason’s experiences while living with the disease were captured on video for five years and featured in the 2016 documentary Gleason.
Steve Gleason is a former professional American football safety with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).
“Dad, I think you’re a great leader and you teach us to be resilient in hard times,” he said. “You’re always trying to help. When times are hard, you stay strong.”
Some 10½ years later, those video journals are now a thing of the past and Gleason’s able to relay the same messages, emotions and words of wisdom to his son face-to-face. It’s a reality Gleason wasn’t necessarily prepared for when doctors told the Spokane native he had no more than five years to live, but one he’s embraced wholly.
“Some days he’s like, ‘This is really hard,’” Varisco said. “… I’m surprised you don’t say that 65 times a day. He says it twice a week at this point and it’s truly, truly remarkable.”
“Rivers, you’re home from the hospital buddy and I’m so excited you are,” Gleason said. “I’ve been thinking about fathers and sons a lot since you’ve been born. At this point it looks like we’re not going to have the normal father-son relationship. I’m going to be around, buddy. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be awesome.
The nearly six-minute long feature revisits some of the video journals recorded for Rivers after his birth in 2011, which came six weeks after Gleason learned of his ALS diagnosis.
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He has also become a pioneer in the ALS awareness community. In 2019, Gleason was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to ALS awareness.
Steve Gleason is a former professional American football safety with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).
Steve Gleason is currently battling ALS. He has been receiving medication and diagnosis for the disease since he revealed that he was battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease)
Gleason’s experiences while living with the disease were captured on video for five years and featured in the 2016 documentary Gleason.
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