This blog is about sharing the realism of my condition with my readers. It’s to receive and answer the questions that are sometimes hard to ask me in person. It’s a way for me to vent. If you can walk away from here and know a little bit more about me.. that’s great. If you gain insight into MS, that’s superb! If you laugh in the process… that’s HUGE! I would consider that a job well done.

I only bring it up because my last post caused such a ruckus; I wanted to make something clear. MS is NOT the best thing that has ever happened to me. It did change my life from the inside out. I have learned several invaluable lessons. Lessons that I do think I could have learned without MS, but no one asked me! Damnit. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. Leaving my career and moving back south together with my husband were the best things that ever happened to me. It’s the classic making lemonade out of lemons.

Today, I wanted to deviate from my normal routine and take a minute to spotlight a hero of mine. He’s a former New Orleans Saints player who recently announced he has ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is an incurable neuromuscular disease.

*Steve Gleason may always be remembered most for his blocked punt on the night the Louisiana Superdome reopened for the first time after Hurricane Katrina — a play that stirred an already emotional crowd into a deafening, drink-spilling frenzy. He says, “In a way, I see this as an opportunity to continue to be an inspiration, maybe even more so than I ever have been.”

Man, talk about “new normals”. He was a professional athlete! Can you imagine the courage he had to muster up to “come out”? I mean this is not a glamorous disease. Recently, when he returned to the Superdome for the 5-year anniversary he walked onto the field with the help of an old teammate, quarterback Drew Brees. So that’s courage AND humility.

But the attention he brought to the ALS foundation was enormous. I hear their phones were ringing off the hook.

We need a face like that for Multiple Sclerosis.

Steve Gleason and his wife Michel walk onto the field.