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Gleason Rocks!

191Do yourself a favor and watch the movie, Gleason: Diary of a Saint. While the subject matter is difficult, a sports hero is diagnosed with a terminal illness, the family deals with their new reality with love, humor,  and purpose. Six weeks after his diagnosis, his wife delivers a diagnosis of her own, she's pregnant. What ensues is a unique all access pass into Steve and Michel's life.

If you're offended by off-color humor, this is not your movie.  I loved every piece of this flick! I found it unflinchingly honest. (Check Michel's look of horror when Steve's coordination starts to go following a triathlon or the communal nature of Steve's bathroom routine.) And as a fellow PALS (person with ALS), I garnered a few tips on how to set up my communication device for my weakening neck muscles. I also must find out where Steve got his leg pillows.

Rather than going softly into that sweet night, Steve and Michel start their Gleason Initiative Foundation, which provides cutting edge technology to people who are afflicted with neuromuscular injuries or disease.

Thanks to the Steve Gleason family and Microsoft, my husband, daughter, and myself got to preview the movie that began as a video blog to Steve's unborn son. Steve Gleason, in case you don't know, is a former New Orleans Saint who is best known for blocking a punt on the first night the Superdome reopened following Hurricane Katrina, representing New Orleans' resurrection.

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