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Former NFL player Steve Gleason gets candid about ALS journey: “This body may be a prison but my mind is free”
Steve Gleason helped lift the spirit of New Orleans with his iconic punt block during the Saints’ first home game after Hurricane Katrina in 2006 – two years before he retired from the NFL.
In 2011, the former New Orleans Saints safety was diagnosed with ALS. He believes that block, which he has called one of his proudest moments, saved his life.
“In 2006, when I blocked that punt on Monday night football, it was undoubtedly a phenomenon that was much more important than winning a football game,” Gleason said in an interview that aired Monday on “CBS Mornings.”
Creating “Team Gleason”
Shortly after his diagnosis, Gleason and his wife Michel made it their mission to help empower others with ALS and raise awareness for the disease, creating the Team Gleason Foundation. The foundation has provided over $40 million in technology, equipment and care services to people with ALS.
“So many people have told us that our foundation’s efforts and support have saved their lives. But if I didn’t block that punt, I’m just another has-been football player. It’s probably that I’d just fade away and die anonymously. I don’t see any of this happening,” Gleason said.
In a recent text conversation with his friend Brian Jeansonne, a former pastor from New Orleans who was diagnosed with ALS in 2020, Gleason was asked if he believes he’d have the same range and impact on ALS without that legendary 2006 block.
“My answer was, ‘If I don’t block the punt, I’m probably not alive,” Gleason said.
Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images
He added, “But here we are. I did block the punt…and this community, my family and friends and their love continue to uplift me throughout this crazy wonderful journey with ALS.”
Because of his heart and strength, Gleason was honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2024 ESPYS.
“Steve Gleason has always been determined to write his own story and live to be 109. Through it all, he has never given in, never stopped fighting, No white flags. And never stopped finding ways to inspire, impact, and write his own story,” former Saints quarterback Drew Brees said at the 2024 ESPYs when introducing Gleason.
Living with ALS
CBS Mornings
When Gleason was diagnosed with ALS, he admits he had to tackle a wide range of emotions – going from frustrated to fearful, to angry. Gleason and Michel shared candid details about their journey with ALS in a new memoir, “A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence,” co-written with Jeff Duncan.
“The readers will see that 13 years of living with this gnarly disease and I’m over a decade past my expiration date, so I have the wilderness of fear tattooed all over me,” Gleason said.
Through the process of losing muscle control, Gleason said he held on to the one thing he has control over: his mindset.
“This body may be a prison but my mind is free,” Gleason said.
Michel admits she’s still tackling feelings of anger and frustration.
“I have not transcended it all like Steve has. But also [I’m] able to move and talk and feel. I’m proud of him for where he is because I really can’t imagine…having to do what he does every day,” she said.
Gleason uses a special computer equipped with eye-tracking software to communicate daily. But the technology isn’t always perfect.
“His technology doesn’t always work. His eyes get tired and some days I just want to be like I just wish today we could have like a regular conversation to figure out the next week,” Michel said.
Sometimes, Michel said, it’s hard for Gleason to communicate with his 5-year-old daughter Gray and 12-year-old son Rivers.
“It’s painful to watch, because I know how much he wants to be communicating with them,” she said.
“We all have a timeline”
Gleason believes “we all have a timeline,” and he finds that concept “absolutely beautiful.”
His advice to others: live like today is the last day you’ll be able to move, talk and breathe on your own.
If you start to shift your mindset, Gleason said, your perspective will change.
“Will you be more appreciative and less concerned about achievement or material success knowing this is your last day of moving?” he asked. “When you hug your child or run your hand through their hair, knowing this is the last time, how much will you appreciate the preciousness of that moment?”
“Mic drop,” agreed Michel before giving him a “forehead to forehead” hug.
CBS Mornings
Watch David Begnaud’s full interview with Steve Gleason here.
David Begnaud loves uncovering the heart of every story and will continue to do so, highlighting everyday heroes and proving that there is good news in the news with his exclusive “CBS Mornings” series “Beg-Knows America.” Every Monday, get ready for moments that will make you smile or even shed a tear. Do you have a story about an ordinary person doing something extraordinary for someone else? Email David and his team at DearDavid@cbsnews.com
Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and is now headed to the desk of President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign the measure into law.
Senators voted 76-20 for the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate two federal policies that prevent nearly 3 million people, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, teachers and others with a public pension, from collecting their full Social Security benefits. The legislation has been decades in the making, as the Senate held its first hearings into the policies in 2003.
“The Senate finally corrects a 50-year mistake,” proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, after senators approved the legislation at 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
The bill’s passage is “a monumental victory for millions of public service workers who have been denied the full benefits they’ve rightfully earned,” said Shannon Benton, executive director for the Senior Citizens League, which advocates for retirees and which has long pushed for the expansion of Social Security benefits. “This legislation finally restores fairness to the system and ensures the hard work of teachers, first responders and countless public employees is truly recognized.”
The vote came down to the wire, as the Senate looked to wrap up its current session. Senators rejected four amendments and a budgetary point of order late Friday night that would have derailed the measure, given the small window of time left to pass it.
Vice President-elect JD Vance of Ohio was among the 24 Republican senators to join 49 Democrats to advance the measure in an initial procedural vote that took place Wednesday.
“Social Security is a bedrock of our middle class. You pay into it for 40 quarters, you earned it, it should be there when you retire,” Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who lost his seat in the November election, told the chamber ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “All these workers are asking for is for what they earned.”
What is the Social Security Fairness Act?
The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) — that reduce Social Security payments to nearly 3 million retirees.
That includes those who also collect pensions from state and federal jobs that aren’t covered by Social Security, including teachers, police officers and U.S. postal workers. The bill would also end a second provision that reduces Social Security benefits for those workers’ surviving spouses and family members. The WEP impacts about 2 million Social Security beneficiaries and the GPO nearly 800,000 retirees.
The measure, which passed the House in November, had 62 cosponsors when it was introduced in the Senate last year. Yet the bill’s bipartisan support eroded in recent days, with some Republican lawmakers voicing doubts due to its cost. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the proposed legislation would add a projected $195 billion to federal deficits over a decade.
Without Senate approval, the bill’s fate would have ended with the current session of Congress and would have needed to be re-introduced in the next Congress.
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Saturday is the winter solstice and 2024’s shortest day. Here’s what to know about the official start of winter.
The 2024 winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, happens on Saturday, Dec. 21, in the Northern Hemisphere. The celestial event signifies the first day of winter, astronomically.
What is the winter solstice?
The winter solstice is the day each year that has the shortest period of daylight between sunrise and sunset, and therefore the longest night. It happens when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, a line of latitude that circles the globe south of the equator, the National Weather Service explains.
The farther north you are, the shorter the day will be, and in the Arctic Circle, the sun won’t rise at all.
How is the day of the winter solstice determined?
The winter solstice occurs because of the Earth’s tilt as it rotates around the sun.
When the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, the nights last longer. The longest night happens on the solstice because the hemisphere is in its furthest position from the sun. That occurs each year on Dec. 21 or 22.
This year, it falls on Dec. 21 at 4:21 a.m ET, to be precise.
On the summer solstice, when the northern tilt is closest to the sun, we have the longest day, usually June 20 or 21.
National Weather Service
The solstices are not always exactly on the 21st every year because the earth’s rotation around the sun is 365.25 days, instead of 365 even.
Will days start getting longer after the winter solstice?
Yes. Each day after the solstice, we get one minute more of sunlight. It doesn’t sound like much, but after just two months, or around 60 days, we’ll be seeing about an hour more of sunlight.
When will winter officially be over in 2025?
The meteorological winter ends on March 20, 2025. Then, spring will last until June 20, when the summer solstice arrives.
How is the winter solstice celebrated around the world?
Nations and cultures around the world have celebrated the solstice since ancient times with varying rituals and traditions. The influence of those solstice traditions can still be seen in our celebrations of holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah, Britannica notes.
The ancient Roman Saturnalia festival celebrated the end of the planting season and has close ties with modern-day Christmas. It honored Saturn, the god of harvest and farming. The multiple-day affair had lots of food, games and celebrations. Presents were given to children and the poor, and slaves were allowed to stop working.
Gatherings are held every year at Stonehenge, a monumental circle of massive stones in England that dates back about 5,000 years. The origins of Stonehenge are shrouded in mystery, but it was built to align with the sun on solstice days.
Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images
The Hopi, a Native American tribe in the northern Arizona area, celebrate the winter solstice with dancing, purification and sometimes gift-giving. A sacred ritual known as the Soyal Ceremony marks the annual milestone.
In Peru, people honor the return of the sun god on the winter solstice. The ancient tradition would be to hold sacrificial ceremonies, but today, people hold mock sacrifices to celebrate. Because Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere, their winter solstice happens in June, when the Northern Hemisphere is marking its summer solstice.
Scandinavia celebrates St. Lucia’s Day, a festival of lights.
The “arrival of winter,” or Dong Zhi, is a Chinese festival where family gathers to celebrate the year so far. Traditional foods include tang yuan, sweet rice balls with a black sesame filling. It’s believed to have its origins in post-harvest celebrations.
Researchers stationed in in Antarctica even have their own traditions, which may include an icy plunge into the polar waters. They celebrate “midwinter” with festive meals, movies and sometimes homemade gifts.