Steve Gleason-case study

Steve Gleason is a former pro football player for the New Orleans Saints. He was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. He currently lives at home with his wife and son. He is not able to move at all. He is dependent on his wife and a friend who stepped in to be his caregiver. Steve has mobility through a chair that was designed for him by Microsoft. They even developed a system that reads eye gaze. This gives him more mobility than he would have had. Steve's priorities are to be able to play with his son, advocate for future research for ALS, and to live a fulfilling life. OT can help with the training of caregivers, optimizing safety, and continue to allow him to participate in social activities. Steve has lived 5 years with the the ALS diagnosis. The typical life expectancy is 3-5 years, but sometime it can be as high as 10 years. I hope that Steve's case is a rarity and he can continue to advocate for future research for ALS for 10 plus years. I can only imagine the amount of stress his family has in doing simple daily activities with him. I love that they include him and even the community. He knows his life is not easy, but he still finds to find the humor in life and shares helpful tips on Twitter. Steve has really become the face of ALS.