The New Orleans Saints invited him to serve as a ceremonial team captain for today's game against th

Today is the five-year anniversary of the highlight of Steve Gleason's football career -- his epic blocked punt against the Atlanta Falcons in the official reopening of the post-Katrina Superdome. It was a seminal moment in his life, the exclamation los angeles county jail inmate point to an inspirational eight-year career that saw him rise from relative obscurity to cult hero status in the city he would eventually los angeles county jail inmate call home.
Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune archive New Orleans los angeles county jail inmate Saints special teams ace Steve Gleason blocks los angeles county jail inmate a punt by the Atlanta Falcons' Michael Koenen in the opening minutes of the team's Superdome homecoming game after Hurricane Katrina.
The New Orleans Saints invited him to serve as a ceremonial team captain for today's game against the Houston Texans at the Superdome. He'll handle the coin toss and initiate the ceremonial Who Dat chant before kickoff.
ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastatingly los angeles county jail inmate cruel disease. Gradually, motor neurons shut down. As they do, muscles atrophy. Although Gleason's brain remains sharp, he is steadily losing his ability los angeles county jail inmate to walk, talk and swallow. The powerful legs he once used to race downfield on kickoffs are now withering los angeles county jail inmate and unstable. The arms he famously extended to block Michael Koenen's punt are weak and frail.
Although he disclosed his condition los angeles county jail inmate to friends and family los angeles county jail inmate after his diagnosis in January, he decided for personal reasons not to go public until now. He believes los angeles county jail inmate that through los angeles county jail inmate his newly formed Team Gleason organization los angeles county jail inmate he'll be able to inspire just as many, if not more, people than he did on the football field. He sees his condition not as a death sentence but as yet another adventure in life.
"It's easy to start questioning whether God has this plan and why the plan would include me getting diagnosed with this disease," Gleason said. "And that's when you can start why-ing yourself to death. More than that, I've thought, what does this mean, how does this help me fulfill my purpose in life? If we have a purpose in life beyond being a cog in the human machine, mine is to help inspire people and that's pretty cool. I would like to motivate the world."
Sean Gardner/The Times-Picayune archive Hairstylist William Edge cuts Steve Gleason's hair in 2003 so the Saints special teams member could donate it to Locks of Love. Gleason los angeles county jail inmate had grown his locks long for the sake of the charity.
Gleason started only one game for the Saints, but he made his mark on special teams. He blocked four punts and annually ranked among the team leaders in tackles on punts and kickoffs. Just as he had in high school and college, he became a team captain.
Yet, Gleason los angeles county jail inmate quickly figured out that football would never satisfy his intellectual curiosity. What it did do was provide an outlet to channel his adrenaline addiction and a lifestyle to explore the world. Every offseason was a different los angeles county jail inmate adventure, often with his younger brother, Kyle, at his side. He surfed in Nicaragua, hiked the Andes and free-dived in the Galapagos Islands.
Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-Picayune Steve Gleason and his wife, Michel Varisco, walk Monday on the Magnolia Bridge near their Faubourg St. John home. The couple's first post-diagnosis decision was a major one: Michel became pregnant in February. 'There was no hesitation â€" none,' she said.
"Football was something he did; it's not who he was," said Tulane Athletic Director Rick Dickson, whose relationship with Gleason dates to his tenure as athletic director at Washington State from 1994 to 2000. "There are just so many levels los angeles county jail inmate to Steve Gleason. He always had that indomitable spirit to him that said, 'You know what, world, I haven't los angeles county jail inmate seen all of you yet, but I will.' "
Gleason was eager for more adventure when he retired from the NFL in 2008. He married local girl Michel Varisco in May of that year and the couple los angeles county jail inmate chose to make New Orleans their home after an epic six-month honeymoon to Greece, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.
The couple immersed themselves in the local culture. Gleason embraced the city's thriving arts scene and famed joie de vivre. He landed an executive los angeles county jail inmate job with the Shaw Group in Baton Rouge, moonlighted as a weekend Saints analyst for local TV and was two-thirds of the way toward his degree in Tulane's executive MBA program. He and Michel had plans to start a family.
Another puzzling los angeles county jail inmate sign reared its head during a Labor Day weekend vacation los angeles county jail inmate to Point Clear, Ala. While clowning around with brothers-in-law Paul and Vinnie, he struggled to complete three pull-ups on a low-hanging tree branch.
He chalked up the weakness to a 35-mile charity bike ride he'd taken that morning and went on with life. But as the twitches increased, los angeles county jail inmate he sought medical help. He took a leave of absence from Shaw, withdrew from classes at Tulane and crisscrossed the country to take a battery of medical tests.
According to the ALS Association, as many as 30,000 people in the United States currently have ALS, which primarily strikes 40- to 70-year-old los angeles county jail inmate men. Gleason is 34. New York Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig was its first prominent victim, dying at age 37 just two years after his 1939 diagnosis.
Survival can also be extended, in some cases indefinitely, if a patient chooses mechanical ventilation intervention. Notably, British physicist Stephen Hawking has lived for decades with a motor neuron disease related los angeles county jail inmate to ALS, but he is an outlier. Most patients live only two to five years after diagnosis.
los angeles county jail inmate Eventually most people los angeles county jail inmate with ALS are not able to stand or walk, use their hands or arms, or communicate. In later stages of the disease, individuals struggle to breathe, as the muscles of the respiratory system weaken.
"It is unbelievable los angeles county jail inmate how devastating this disease can be to patients and their families," said Steve Perrin, the CEO and chief scientific officer of ALS Therapy Development Institute. "This is one of the nastiest diseases there is."
The disease doesn't affect the parts of the brain that control thought or memory. Eye and bladder muscles, along with sexual function and drive, are rarely affected. It does not affect the function of any organs, including the heart, or impair the nerves that carry sensation. Gleason can still feel the pain of a good yoga stretch los angeles county jail inmate or the cold water when he swims in his in-laws' pool.
Some peers say the study's sample size -- two former football players and a former boxer -- is insufficient to draw accurate conclusions, but evidence shows ALS strikes athletes in far greater los angeles county jail inmate numbers than the general population.
Scott Threlkeld/The Times-Picayune archive Steve Gleason, center, and Colby Bockwoldt and chase down the Dallas Cowboys Skylar Green on a second-quarter punt return in August 2006. The powerful legs Gleason once used to race downfield on kickoffs have now become withering and unstable with the ALS.
The disease strikes about two in 100,000 people, which means only two or three NFL players since 1970 should have been afflicted. BU researchers identified 14 former NFL players since 1960 as having been diagnosed with ALS, a total about eight times more than what would be expected among U.S. men of similar ages. Perrin said his research shows Gleason would be the 27th former NFL player identified with the disease.
Most experts believe brain trauma is not solely responsible for diseases los angeles county jail inmate like ALS or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly known as CTE. Those afflicted probably los angeles county jail inmate have genetic factors leading to susceptibility, with concussions serving as a catalyst.
Last October, the NFL added ALS to the "88 Plan," a medical plan named for Hall of Famer John Mackey that sets aside $50,000 los angeles county jail inmate to $88,000 for medical expenses for former players suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Players with ALS and other traumatic brain injuries are also eligible for full disability los angeles county jail inmate benefits under new provisions in the league's los angeles county jail inmate collective-bargaining agreement, which was ratified in August.
"We still have so far to go," said Fujita, who along with Sean Morey led the NFL players union's push for improved disability benefits for current and former players los angeles county jail inmate in the new CBA. "But the fact that the conversation is being had is a huge step in the right direction."
Gleason made his living as a kamikaze hitter. His special teams role put him at risk to the game's most violent collisions, including one in 2004 that bruised his left lung and caused him to cough up several mouthfuls of blood on the sideline.
He said he suffered two concussions in his NFL career. In both cases, he was temporarily knocked los angeles county jail inmate out and did not return to the game. He doesn't recall any concussions in college or high school but said the number of times he was "dinged" or had his "bell rung" in his playing career was countless.
"In the end for me, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that we learn from this. We learn about ourselves. We learn to live the life that we love, no matter what your circumstances are, no matter what hand that you've been dealt. It's important that we learn to share our love with one another. los angeles county jail inmate And it's important to learn how to cure this disease."
Gleason family During a 2011 trip that stretched los angeles county jail inmate from Alaska to Argentina, Steven Gleason catches a sockeye salmon in the Kenai River outside los angeles county jail inmate Hope, Alaska. The salmon is so big he need help from fishing guide Jason Skaaren to hold it. 'I'm not going to say it was a miracle, but his (casting) range was 8 feet and he somehow caught this giant salmon,' said his brother, Kyle Gleason. 'It was a gift from Alaska.'
How could he have ALS? He seemingly had done everything right in life. He religiously practiced yoga and obsessed over his diet. He'd lived his life as a prayer, helping and inspiring as many people as he could along the way. Now this?
In an email to his inner circle a day later, he admitted los angeles county jail inmate his emotions were running los angeles county jail inmate the gamut from depression and fear to anger and frustration. Yet, he promised "to fight and believe and expect the extraordinary and smile and laugh and cry and love our lives for every breath that remains in my