Episode 181: Steve Gleason - A Story of Heroism and Hard Hits, As Told By Sports Writer Jeff Duncan

Louisiana Insider

No sports figure represent mores of an emotional tug of war than Steve Gleason. It was he that, on the glorious night in 2006 when the New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome after being away for a season because of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina, blocked a punt in the first two minutes of the national televised game that gave the Saints a touchdown. They never looked back the entire game. Gleason’s now legendary big play is even immortalized in a statue outside the Dome. But Gleason’s story also represents one of life’s blocks since he contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known commonly as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Times-Picayune reporter Jeff Duncan joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde along with Producer Kelly Massicot to talk about "A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence," the book he has co-authored with Gleason who now communicates through an eye-blink sensitive computer software system. Gleason’s story is one of heroism, including that of his wife Michel, and his family. Duncan weaves it all together beautifully. It is a story that must be told, read about and certainly, through the podcast, listened to.