Gleason

Good evening.

My friend Doobie told me that I needed to watch the movie/documentary called "Gleason". It is the story of Steve Gleason, who played football for New Orleans.  After he retired he was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease.  As if this were not heartbreaking enough, his wife found out she was pregnant mere weeks later.

ALS is an awful disease.  It begins robbing you of your motor functions and doesn't stop until it takes away your ability to do everything but think.  It leaves your brain intact while it takes away every other function.  You are fully aware that your body is slowly losing control of itself.  Within a relatively short period of time you become completely dependent on those around you.  

When you watch it, be prepared for its honesty and raw emotion.  Much of it is taken directly from self-filmed footage taken during the events of the first 4 years after his diagnosis.  It sees the disease through the eyes of the afflicted, the caregivers, the family, and even his young son.  We are in the room for the tremendous struggles and heartbreak.  And we also smile as they smile, and feel triumph in their accomplishments.

I don't want to give away anything in the movie, but I will say that it runs all of us through nearly every emotional subject you can think of: love, devotion, frustration, hope, faith, and everything in between.

When I come across movies that I feel caregivers can relate to, or can use to find some lessons for their own situation, I try to pass that along.  This is, to date, the best movie I have seen which shows the complexity of the cared-caregiver relationships.  Instead of offering any answers, it succeeds in asking all the right questions. 

The answer is......that there is no answer.  Every step we take is a personal journey full of joy and loss.  The best we can do is find grace during the good days and the bad.

Be well and God bless.    Tom