It started with a slight twitching in his chest and arm. Then, the former New Orleans Saints defensive back began to struggle to move his fingers and toes. It didn’t stop there.
In 2011 at the age of 34, five years after Steve Gleason blocked a punt against the Atlanta Falcons in the New Orleans Saints’ first game in the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina, he was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Gleason is paralyzed from the neck down and cannot speak, let alone be able to sign jerseys.
Until now.
Five years after his diagnosis and 10 years since his prolific blocked punt against the Falcons, Gleason was able to sign robotically-assisted autographs with his eyes.